Alberman: “This was a huge experience”

Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Gal Alberman summed up his feelings after last night's big Derby win: "We know how much the Derby means to the fans and it was a huge experience for all of us."

The more than 13,000 spectators that turned up at Bloomfield Stadium to watch the latest installment of the best show in town saw Maccabi Tel Aviv dispatch city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv 4-0. Rade Pricca's maiden goal, Eliran Atar's sixth brace of the season (his 19^th and 20^th league goals), and Maharan Radi's expert finish marked the opening of the Maccabi celebrations. Head coach Oscar Garcia was well aware of the significance of the victory, beyond the 11 point gap it puts between the two city rivals: "Both the team and the fans needed this win and I'm very happy for them."

The head coach explained what he thought contributed to his team's victory: "We started the match with the right attitude. I told the players before the match that we had to make a good start of it, with the right approach. We knew it would be difficult but the players played very well. I told the players before the match that they had to get out there and show courage and everyone could see that's exactly what they did." Oscar went short of declaring this to be his team's best result of the season. "We've had other very good displays this season and on the road too even if we didn't win in the end."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXqPRD0AwDo

Maccabi Tel Aviv skipper Sheran Yeini summed things up and described how he felt after the big win: "You'd think by looking at the final score 4-0 that this was a walk in the park but we worked very very hard to get there. We shut them down on the pitch, closed down their lines of service and stopped them from getting any chances. This is a huge victory so far I'm concerned, I got that winning feeling even before the match ended and it's been with me ever since." Yeini also talked about the mental preparation before the match and the differences with the first derby this season: "We talked a lot about this match all last week, during practices and afterwards too, so by the time we got to the match itself we were really ready so far our mind set was concerned. At the first derby we didn't convert the chances we had but this time we did and the pressure we put them under really paid off."

Maccabi midfielder Gal Alberman had this to add: "We were ready for the last derby too but things just didn't work out the way we wanted. This time we were in control from the very start. This is a very important win for us, we came to the match with our heads straight and knew this was our only chance to put more distance between them and us in the table. And of course we know how much the derby means to the fans and it was a huge experience for all of us."