Maccabi Tel Aviv cruised past Hapoel Beersheba 4-1 as Ester Sokler scored a brace in the win that saw the yellow-and-blue pick up their third victory in as many games to start the season.
Helio Varela set the tone early with a screamer of a strike to give Maccabi a 1-0 lead in the opening minute of play. Sokler scored his first of the match from the penalty spot to double the advantage while Eliel Peretz was sent off, leaving the hosts with 10-men.
But right before the break, Amir Ganah pulled a goal back to cut the lead to 2-1 at halftime. Sokler found the back of the net again off a Varela cross, while Peretz added a marker as well to take the 4-1 win.
Up next is the Tel Aviv derby next Monday night as Maccabi will be the hosts against Hapoel, which has a pair of wins and a draw thus far this campaign.
“Hapoel Beersheba is a very good team, and we have to be at the top of our game against them. We started really well, and we took our chances early. We had to make sure that we stayed consistent, and when they went down to ten men, we took the eye off the ball, and I was disappointed and upset, but we made the changes that we needed to at halftime to make sure we picked up the pace.”
Beersheba’s Ran Kozuk looked back at the defeat
“We just didn’t show up, and we started poorly by giving up a goal that wasn’t a Premier League goal. From there, Lucas Ventura was injured, and the snowball kept rolling; then we got a red card that reduced us to 10 men. Maccabi scored a penalty; we knew what type of game they wanted to play and what we wanted to do, and we did the exact opposite.”
At Bloomfield Stadium, Hapoel Tel Aviv crushed Hapoel Ramat Gan 4-0 as the Reds scored all of the goals in the second half to take the win ahead of the derby.
After a goalless first half, Elyaniv Barda scored a deluge of goals as Emmanuel Boateng broke the ice in the 57th minute, while Douglas Owusu scored a magnificent marker off a break down the right flank to double the advantage. An own goal by Dudu Twito made it 3-0, while captain Fernand Mayembo headed home the fourth goal with authority in second-half injury time to wrap up the blowout win.
Elyaniv Barda said at the end of the game, “Even though we didn’t score, I think the first half was good as well, but we didn’t know how to capitalize on our opportunities and score the first goal that would open the floodgates. Thankfully, in the second half, the chances were converted into goals. As for the Derby, I’m not thinking about the next game; I just hope that we can continue playing at this level.”
Ramat Gan coach Messay Dego added: “Nothing worked today. Defensively, we were very deep, which we haven’t been in any game this year. It was very difficult to watch, especially in the first half. I told the players that we were lucky to get away with it. Every two or three passes, we lost the ball. There are days like this, but we cannot fall apart the way we did at the end. That is something I cannot simply let slide.”
In the Galilee, Beitar Jerusalem slipped past Bnei Sakhnin 1-0 as Eugene Ansah scored the lone goal of the contest in the second half off of a corner kick to give Almog Cohen’s charges their first win of the season after a pair of losses.
“Good feeling for sure,” Cohen began. “But it wasn’t a great game. In the second half, we created more chances. For me, the most important thing was the desire and the fighting spirit. It’s difficult to play quality football when you feel the pressure around you. As a coach, I tried to take that pressure off. Football is ultimately about enjoying yourself.”
“It’s frustrating,” Sakhnin coach Yossi Abukasis said. “When you have a good first half, break through the pressure several times and create scoring opportunities, of course it’s frustrating. Unfortunately, we made a mistake and lost the game. In football, at the end of the day, you’re judged by the titles you win. What we were missing was sharpness in front of the goal.”
Finally, Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Haifa played to a 1-1 draw as Alon Turgeman scored in the first half to give the Carmel Reds the lead, but Matheus Davo’s second-half penalty split the points at the Netanya Stadium.
Diamond City squad coach Roni Levy spoke about the match, “At home, we always want to win and keep the momentum going. We faced an opponent who made things difficult for us. We fell behind because of an uncharacteristic mistake that shouldn’t have happened. We managed to come back, and it was an even game. Our approach in the first half was rather passive. At the beginning of the game, we were still in control, but I think our approach was better in the second half, and we made some changes that helped us.”
Haifa bench boss Haim Silvas also shared his thoughts, “A huge missed opportunity. Usually, I’m very measured, but I feel like we missed a great chance. We played a great game. Although we didn’t start the second half well, we created chances to win. We controlled the game both with and without the ball. It’s a shame we weren’t more clinical. What we were missing was that final touch to turn the game in our favor.”
