On Saturday against Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi's young midfielder and under 21 international Dor Micha scored his maiden goal in a Tel Aviv Derby: "There was absolutely no doubt who were the better side"
Maccabi Tel Aviv awoke this morning to yet another particularly "Yellow" morning after their convincing 2-0 win in the Tel Aviv Derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Premier ("Winner") league's 30th round on Saturday night. Whilst the rest of the squad began their preparations for this coming Saturday's fifth play-off match against Bnei Yehuda, the starting Derby eleven held a post-match warm-up just off the training pitch. Young striker Moannes Dabbur, who was injured in a warm up and had to sit out the Derby, is still being evaluated for the extent of his injuries. After the match, head coach Oscar Garcia gave an uncharacteristic smile and said: "I'm very pleased because I know the fans are very happy, It isn't easy to win three Derby matches in one season. I'm very proud of my players and happy for the fans".
Midfielder Dor Micha, whose place in the Derby's starting eleven came as a result of Moannes Dabbur's injury, had this to say at the end of the match: "We were all fired up from the very start and there wasn't a moment out there that it wasn't crystal clear who were the better side. This is our second straight Derby win and another step towards our ultimate goal, we just have to keep carrying on this way". The midfielder added: "It's always fun to score, especially in a Derby. Even as a kid you dream about scoring in a Derby so I'm really happy to have done so for the first time in my career, and I hope they'll be more".
Midfielder Eran Zahavi, who scored the Derby's first goal and his second in the league since joining the club in the January transfer window, also became the first player to score in a Derby for Maccabi Tel Aviv who came through the ranks of Hapoel Tel Aviv's Youth System: "Misfiring on that first volley made me feel I couldn't let another chance go begging. Seems I needed to miss that first opportunity to push me to convert the second one. I'm really happy, content you know, we're off to celebrate and see what happens next week".
Midfielder Gal Alberman: "Truth is this is a continuation of a run of very good form for us amidst a busy fixture schedule. We're putting everything aside to concentrate on our work on the pitch. Tonight we played several levels higher than our opponents and it's always good fun to win a match like that". And the championship? Alberman prefers to keep it low profile: "I think what really characterises us from the start of this season is that we don't lose focus and that we take each match on its own. Obviously at this stage we can almost feel the cup in our hands, but whatever happens we'll be playing our hardest up until the very last moment. From the kick off till the final whistle, because that's how we play and that's what got us to where we are right now".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wsM-Tjlyp4