Maccabi Tel Aviv returned to Bloomfield stadium after a three-week-long winter break as Vladimir Ivic’s side face Hapoel Jerusalem for a Toto Cup tie which will determine which team finishes in the 7th and 8th spots of the competition.
Three players were handed their first start this season as Daniel Tenenbaum was named in goal with Daniel Peretz rested and left out of the squad. Idan Nachmias started alongside Derrick Luckassen and Shahar Piven as the three central defenders in front of Tenenbaum. Yonatan Cohen who so far made three substitute appearances in the league, was handed his debut start at left wing-back with Andre Geraldes on the opposite right flank. Dor Peretz and Avi Rikan were both named by Ivic in the midfield engine room while Parfait Guiagon was at the top of the midfield trio. Eran Zahavi led the team out wearing the captain’s armband while he was joined upfront by Dor Turgeman making his debut start. On the bench Ivic named Or Itzhak as the substitute keeper with Dan Glazer, Joris van Overeem, Sheran Yeini, Maor Kandil, Roy Revivo, Nir Bitton and Djordje Jovanovic all waitin g for their chance to make an impact.
First Half
A relatively slow start to the game saw Maccabi create the first chance in the 17th minute as Dor Turgeman came close to score on his debut start. The 19-year-old striker tried curling a left foot shot from inside the area which took a deflection off a defender to bounce to the wrong side of the post.
Three minutes later, Yonatan Cohen making his first start as a left wing-back picked Derrick Luckassen with an accurate cross at the far post. But the Dutch central defender’s header which beat goalkeeper Yehonatan Shabi from close range struck the post. Hapoel Jerusalem looked dangerous on the counter while Maccabi continued to create the better chances.
Avi Rikan carved the visitors’ defence as he released Turgeman who tried creating time and space but before he managed to snap his shot, a defender hooked the ball away. Right on the half hour mark Idan Nachmias remained on the ground after a tackle and limped off with a knee injury before being replaced in the 36th minute by Nir Bitton. A minute later Rikan found Parfait Guiagon just inside the area but the diminutive Ivorian who chested the ball down fired his half volley agonizingly wide.
Jerusalem enjoyed some good moments and almost took the lead through Awaka Ashta who flashed his shot wide of Daniel Tenenbaum’s goal.
Inside injury time Maccabi finally broke the deadlock with Turgeman turning provider as his low cross from the right was left by Eran Zahavi and rolled into the path of Guiagon. This time round and from an almost identical position to the one he missed earlier, Guiagon directed his shot on target before the ball bobbled off Jerusalem’s goalkeeper to land in the back of the net.
Second Half
Vladimir Ivic made two changes after the break as Maor Kandil and Djordje Jovanovic replaced Andre Geraldes and Eran Zahavi at the restart.
In the 53rd minute Rikan blasted a left foot pile-driver which was punched away by Shabi while two minutes later Luckassen charged all the way from the halfway line but his effort wasn’t powerful enough to beat Jerusalem’s keeper. Maccabi continued to try and double the score as Cohen and Jovanovic both forced Shabi to save and keep his side in game. Ivic made two more changes in the 62nd minute as Cohen and Rikan both bowed out and were replaced by Joris van Overeem and Roy Revivo. The young left back was handed his first appearance this season and second senior appearance against the same side he made his senior debut last year.
A mix up in Maccabi’s defence on 73 drew Daniel Tenenbaum into the action as the Brazilian born custodian was at full stretch to push out Golan Benny’s shot which threatened to level the score. Turgeman had another volley blocked by a Jerusalem defender in the 75th minute as the young forward reacted first to a loose ball inside Jerusalem’s penalty area.
Revivo almost set up Maccabi’s second in the 82nd minute as he spotted Guiagon’s run into the box and placed a pinpoint cross right on his head only for the header to land on the roof of the net. Three minutes later though, Maccabi finally took the tie beyond Jerusalem’s reach as Dor Peretz released Jovanovic whose initial attempt was blocked by Shabi. Turgeman pounced on the rebound and was almost rewarded for his efforts on the night with a well-deserved goal but Shabi managed to save again before Jovanovic blasted the ball in off the crossbar to double the score.
Maccabi’s 2-0 victory secured seventh spot to the delight of the 4060 fans who turned up with the news of Nachmias tearing his cruciate knee ligaments and requiring a long term recovery dampening everyone’s mood.
