Maccabi Tel Aviv players arrived for training this morning at the Kiryat Shalom training grounds after their 0-1 victory last night over Hapoel Ramat Gan
The victory was achieved through a goal from midfielder Maharan Radi in the 54th minute and sealed in the match's dying moment with a penalty saved by keeper Barak Levi. After the match he had this to say: "It wasn't just me who earned those three points, it was the whole team. We knew what we were up against and of course Hapoel Tel Aviv losing earlier was on our minds, but we showed a lot of character." About saving the penalty he said: "I've been watching videos before the matches and working on the penalties. Character also means getting through matches like these. We came here and showed everyone that we're winners, that we can win even when it's difficult, and that's the most important thing."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMGkJQTe1a8
Head coach Oscar Garcia also commented on Barak Levi: "He's doing his job well, it's his second save and we're very happy with his performances. But it wasn't just Barak, all the players worked very hard today." Concerning the refereeing at the match he said: "We never complain about referees' decisions, but we're no fools either. Everyone was saying there was no penalty there and that's what I said to the referee." He then added: "The players were still tired from the Cup match on Tuesday and that's why they didn't play the way I would have wished. But these three points are as important as any other three points, and that's without regard to how Hapoel Tel Aviv fared today or the Derby next week."
The manager also had something to say about what influence next week's Derby might have had on the weak performance against Hapoel Ramat Gan: "All my players were focused on the match today but we can't play well in every match. Next week we'll try to give our fans what they come for, they know they can count on us to give it our all and send them home with smiles on their faces."
