Wow! What a game we got at Grundman tonight, at the end of which Maccabi Tel Aviv beat HaPoel Ramat HaSharon 4-3. The host already had a 2-0 lead when Dabour reduced it toward halftime, but immediately when the second half started, the hosts scored their third goal. Just then, when it seemed like the team was facing an abyss, Gonzalo Garcia and Eliran Atar achieved the tie. Maccabi Tel Aviv's players were entranced as they sought after the victory goal, which was eventually made by Roberto Colautti, following an asset by the team's goalkeeper, Vincent Eniema, with a long ball. After two yellow losses, the team is back to winning and maintaining the top.
The first part of the first half belonged, as always, to Maccabi Tel Aviv, which could not make a quick goal. Just 8 minutes into the game, Ran Itzhak received the ball near the penalty area, swiveled over Carlos Garcia and kicked a relatively light ball into the net. Dabour and Radi also made attempts from standing positions, but the host's goalkeeper was in position. In Minute 39, Nussbaum raised the ball from the left; Eniema crashed into Carlos and dropped the ball before Assi Baldot made the second goal into an unprotected net. Toward halftime, a free kick by Mehran Radi found Dabour's head, directing the ball to Gal Nir's goal and reducing the gap.
As the second half began, Oscar put Roberto Colautti in instead of Hassan Abu Zayyad, who did not leave his imprint on the game. Maccabi Tel Aviv's players charged ahead, leaving the rear exposed. Nussbaum took advantage of their absence to raise the ball to Baldot who lowered it to Ran Itzhak as the latter rolled the third goal in. Just then, under torrential rain and as their nerves reached a peak, the yellow team displayed one of the greatest coups of the last years.
In Minute 63, an accidental out of bounds ball by Yeini in the right was thrust back to him. The defender raised it into the 5-yeard line and Gonzalo kicked the ball in the air, letting it bounce on the field before it entered the net. The excitement increased and, in Minute 75, an exchange of passes between Earnshaw and Yeini culminated in the latter's kick to the goal. Gal Nir thrust the ball to the center of the penalty area and Atar rolled it in. The madness continued when the yellow team had exactly 15 minutes to score the winning goal. 11 minutes to the end, it was Eniema who saw Colautti alone behind the defensive line, threw him the ball and the forward lowered it with his chest, kicking the ball to the goal between the goalkeeper's legs.
A wild game with seven goals and a grand coup ends with a Maccabi Tel Aviv victory after it scored no goals over the last two weeks. Next week, Maccabi Tel Aviv will host Bnei Sachnin at Bloomfield, one week before the first round of the season comes to an end.
