As one might expect from a clash between bookends, with Maccabi Tel Aviv at the leading end and Hapoel Acco holding up from the other, the match between the two clubs on Saturday afternoon at Bloomfield ended in a resounding 4-0 victory for the leaders. By the time the halftime whistle had blown, Dor Micha and Sheran Yeini, in the 8th and 12th minutes respectively, had already given the Yellows a two goal cushion. Less than ten minutes after the restart, and then again eight minutes later, Eliran Atar added his brace, bringing his league leading season total to 18 goals. Maccabi Tel Aviv were a man short for the last twenty minutes of the match, with defender Yoav Ziv going off injured when head coach Oscar Garcia had already used up his three substitutions. But Hapoel Acco were unable to take advantage and Maccabi Tel Aviv had earned themselves another clean sheet and another week at the top spot in the table. Next week the Yellows will meet Hapoel Ramat Gan, but all eyes will be on the derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv that is just around the corner.
Scarcely had the first half begun, twelve minutes to be exact, when the talents of Dor Micha and Sheran Yeini had already put the match beyond reach. On eight minutes Dor Micha latched on to a deflection by the visitor's defence, wrong-footed his defender and prodded the ball past Acco goalkeeper Dudo Goresh into the net from five yards out. Four minutes later an inswinging corner from Moshe Lugassi met the rising head of Sheran Yeini who imbedded it into the top corner of the opposition net. Despite three or four more chances for Maccabi, all wasted due to a lack of precision, the rest of the first half produced little in the way of the spectacular and the halftime whistle saw the Yellows leave the pitch with a two-goal advantage and a great deal of confidence for the remaing 45 minutes of the match.
The second half started with Maccabi's Moannes Dabbur replacing Roberto Colautti, but the opening minutes saw the visitors in control. But in Maccabi's first foray of the half, against the run of play, Moshe Lugassi provided Eliran Atar with an easy ball on the edge of the area which he volleyed past Goresh between the goalposts. Eight minutes later a pass from Yoav Ziv left Maccabi striker Rade Pricca alone in front of the Acco goalkeeper, but he unselfishly left it to Eliran Atar to finish and record his 18th goal of the season. Minutes after the fourth goal, and with three substitutions already made, Maccabi defender Yoav Ziv left the pitch with an injury and was forced to abandon the match, leaving his ten comrades to defend the final twenty minutes of the match a man down. But that they did, and at the final whistle the scoreboard showed the same 4-0 Maccabi lead as twenty minutes earlier.
pictures – Nir Kider
