Roberto Colautti: “It was a strange match”

The player who scored the winning goal last night at Hapoel Ramat HaSharon was pleased with the points, but knows that not everything was perfect: "We're going to have to work on some of our mistakes"

It is hard to imagine that anyone expected a spectacle like the one we were treated to last night against Hapoel Ramat HaSharon.  The hosts led 2-0 halfway through the first half, 3-1 toward halftime and it seemed that Maccabi Tel Aviv were on their way to their third consecutive defeat.  Nevertheless Maccabi proved up for the challenge, achieved a turnaround not often seen in the Israeli Premier league, and left the pitch, rain-drenched but happy, with a 4-3 victory. Striker Moanes Dabbur scored the first goal, midfielder Gonzalo Garcia the second, striker Eliran Atar drew the sides level and striker Roberto Colautti scored the winner just 10 minutes from time.

Colautti, who came off the bench a minute into the second half and scored his first goal of the season, looked for the proper term to describe the game, summarising it from his own perspective: "The mildest word I can use to describe the game is "strange".  We did not play well in the first half and we made a few mistakes that we will have to work on this week in order to avoid repeating them.  As for our attack today, every game is different.  You sometimes need one forward, sometimes more.  Today it would have been natural to play with several forwards because Ramat HaSharon pulled back and let us attack repeatedly." Colautti also emphasised the special significance of this victory: "It was very important to win today because of our two recent losses and the difficulties we encountered along the way."

Another player who came on off the bench to add to the Maccabi attack, striker Robert Earnshaw, shared in the satisfaction with Maccabi's win but clearly noted that there is a lot to learn from an "eventful" game like this: "We displayed good team spirit; we are a bit relieved because it was a tough game.  They scored three goals and did not make it easy for us.  We were very happy because we worked very hard during the game; we pressed and eventually got what we wanted.  It's been a tough week, with everything that's been going on and our two losses, but this is the kind of game that should bring us back to life.  We celebrated the victory, but these are the kind of games that show us where we need to improve."

Head coach Oscar Garcia was pleased at the end of the game, although he admitted: "It was a good game for the fans, but not for the coaches.  The second half was played the way I like to see my team play.  The first 30 minutes of the first half were our worst this season. I told my players that we could not go on like this and that it'll take a lot more to turn the game around."

"We played better because they were tired and we needed forwards out there to get back into the game.  Eventually it worked out.  My main objective is to keep the team strong and we knew that we needed this victory to maintain our confidence."  The coach did not forget to compliment Roberto Colautti on the winning goal: "I'm happy for him.  He works hard every day and it has paid off for him."