Preview
Maccabi arrived at the MD22 ONE ZERO League encounter away to inform Maccabi Netanya aiming to return to winning ways following the two draws in the previous two matches.
Maccabi, currently third in the table, eight adrift of the league leaders and four behind second place Hapoel Be’ersheva – a week before hosting the Southerners at Bloomfield stadium.
With his side facing Netanya that are unbeaten in their last six league matches and nine in all competitions, Maccabi’s coach, Aitor Karanka, made a single change from the side which was held to a draw by Sakhnin. Ofir Davidzada stepped into the side at left back with Enric Saborit replacing Nir Bitton at the heart of defence. Derrick Luckassen partnered Saborit as the second central defender in front of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz while Andre Geraldes completed the back-four at right back. Dan Glazer and Dor Peretz were assigned to the midfield engine room with Gabi Kanichowsky and Parfait Guiagon on both wings. Eran Zahavi led the team out wearing the captain’s armband as the veteran marksman spearheaded the attack and continued his partnership with Djordje Jovanovic which saw the duo bag 37 goals in all competitions.
With Daniel Tenenbaum still nursing a back strain, Yonatan Cohen out with a hamstring injury and Maor Kandil serving a one-match touchline ban, Karanka, included new signing Rares Ilye in the squad for the first time as he named the 19-year-old Romanian winger amongst the substitutes. Alongside Ilye, who waited for his chance to make his Maccabi debut, Karanka had Or Yitzhak, Joris van Overeem, Sheran Yeini, Avi Rikan, Eyal Golasa, Dor Turgeman, Nir Bitton and Matan Hozez.
First Half
In what has almost become a trademark of encounters between the two sides, the match began at a high tempo and battles for each ball at the centre of the park. The hosts came close to draw first blood in the seventh minute as Maccabi’s defence struggled to clear a corner before Igor Zlatanovic flashed a header wide of the post.
Eran Zahavi got a chance at the opposite end as he raced onto a loose ball, but the 35-year-old’s right-foot volley was easily collected by Netanya’s goal-keeper Itamar Nitzan.
Gabi Kanichowsky on the left wing and Parfait Guiagon on the opposite right flank tried supplying some width to Maccabi’s game which didn’t produce any end product. In the 26th minute Ofir Davidzada and Kanichowsky combined well down the left before the ball reached Dor Peretz whose shot sailed over the crossbar. Shai Konstantin was booked for mistimed tackle on Dan Glazer in the 29th minute but Kanichowsky free kick was cleared.
Moments later, a Davidzada corner was flicked by Saborit into the path of Peretz whose effort cleared the crossbar once again. At the opposite end, a combination of Daniel Peretz, Davidzada and the crossbar produced a goalmouth clearance to rescue Maccabi from conceding as somehow Patrick Twumasi’s effort was cleared off the line. While Maccabi struggled to carve an opening, Netanya continued to look dangerous as Aviv Avraham tried a shot from long distance only for his effort to shave the top of the goal.
Second Half
With no goals scored in the first half, Aitor Karanka, and his Netanya counterpart, Ran Kozukh, didn’t make any changes to personnel as both teams emerged unchanged for the restart.
Two minutes later, an Eran Zahavi fierce drive struck Palmin Galabov with Netanya’s central defender requiring treatment before being replaced shortly after by Yuval Sadeh.
Maccabi reached their best chance so far in the 54th minute as an early Davidzada through ball released Zahavi down the left flank. Zahavi’s square ball found Djordje Jovanovic whose first time effort forced Nitzan to a spectacular save. But even if the Serbian’s shot would have beaten the keeper, the goal wouldn’t have counted as the linesman raised his flag for offside. Two minutes later Netanya took the lead with Liran Rotman firing Avraham’s cut-back from inside the area past Peretz.
Karanka reacted with a double substitution in the 61st minute as Kanichowsky and Guiagon bowed out and were replaced by Matan Hozez and Rares Ilye who made is Israeli debut.
Eyal Golasa came in for Glazer in the 79th minute as Karanka made his third substitution adding a fresh pair of legs into his midfield.
In the 81st minute Netanya doubled their lead in controversial circumstances and spectacular fashion. Referee Nael Oudah waived Hozez’s claims for a foul inside the centre circle before Twumasi launched a long range dipping effort which went in off the post to beat Peretz. In the 87th minute, Oudah awarded Maccabi a free kick on the edge of the area, allowing Zahavi to curl his shot past Nitzan, and cut the deficit with his 14th league goal and 20th in all competitions.
The goal gave Maccabi hope of salvaging a point as even Daniel Peretz joined the attack during one of the corners in the closing stages. Netanya almost exploited the situation and added further misery as from one of those corners they charged forward towards and scored to the empty goal. But Twumasi’s effort was ruled offside. The full time whistle ended Maccabi’s 17 match long unbeaten run in all competitions, but dealt a big blow to any championship aspirations.
A victory against Hapoel Be’ersheva at Bloomfield next week, could see Maccabi cut the deficit and return to the title race shortly before the top Playoff gets underway.
