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On Saturday Maccabi Tel Aviv will have a "double dose" of Hapoel Ramat Hasharon, and lot's of memories to go with it

This Saturday supporters of both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Ramat Hasharon will be treated to not just one but two intriguing ties. Both the junior and the senior teams will be meeting in what could prove to be results having a significant effect on the rest of the season. Maccabi Tel Aviv will host both matches, the first of which will see Maccabi's Youth Team "Shachar" welcome their Ramat Hasharon equivalents at Kiryat Shalom training grounds at 10.30 A.M. "Shachar" head coach Amir Turgeman and his players are in their best form of the season but will no doubt still have the 0-3 defeat in the opposite fixture at Ramat Hasharon earlier in the season in the back of their minds. That disappointing result came during a run of bad form that saw them suffer three consecutive losses and ship ten goals in the process. They come into this match however after four consecutive victories, the last being the sweetest of all, a 1-0 derby win against Hapoel Tel Aviv, and a goal difference of 9-0. Their reward has been to see the gap between themselves and league leaders Maccabi Haifa diminish to seven points and a new optimism for the rest of the season. But to keep up the momentum they will have to defeat Hapoel Ramat Hasharon and that's easier said than done. Ranked eighth in the table with 29 points, Hasharon have been among the least consistent sides in the youth league and have caused troubles for most of the teams at the top of the table.

"Shachar"'s big brother, the senior Maccabi Tel Aviv side, will host Hapoel Ramat Hasharon at 6.45 P.M. at Bloomfield Stadium. Like their little brother, the senior squad is also coming into this match on the back of four consecutive league wins. To add a fifth they'll have to contend with a team whose coach and some players know Maccabi Tel Aviv from the inside. Goalkeeper Gal Nir, defender Kobi Moussa and midfielder Tom Mensharov will all try to surprise their former teammates while being coached by former Maccabi Tel Aviv legend , Benny Tabak. In the 1970's and 80's it was the same Benny Tabak who as a swift and deadly forward dominated the length and width of the Maccabi Tel Aviv pitch, earning himself the nickname "F-15".

And it was Tabak who stood on the touchline with the then head coach of Hapoel Ramat Hasharon Menachem Kurtsky in that memorable match between the two clubs when they first met earlier in the season. The dramatic encounter seemed to being going in Tabak's favour with Ramat Hasharon leading 3-1 at halftime, the hosts no doubt hoping they'd add a third victory in three meetings between the clubs in the short history since Ramat Hasharon was promoted to the Premiere League. But three second half goals, the last on 80 minutes by Maccabi striker Roberto Colautti, gave a dramatic victory to Maccabi Tel Aviv and left the Premiere league newcomers empty handed.

At 10.30 A.M. the youth teams will open their match, and by a little after 8.30 P.M. the senior squads of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Ramat Hasharon will have finished theirs. Only then will we know if our beloved Maccabi Tel Aviv teams will be three points closer to their respective championships.