Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, was hoping to get more than a point against Bnei Yehuda but was pleased with the team's performance: "We didn't get all three but we pulled ourselves together and got back into the match"
Yesterday, Bloomfield Stadium was stage to eight goals in two exciting matches that both ended in 2-2 draws. After the early performance between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv crossed horns with "little" neighbours Bnei Yehuda which would once again prove to be the "big" derby after all. Maccabi came back from a two goal deficit in the first half coutesy of a brace from midfielder Eran Zahavi and despite chances at either end of the pitch the score remained the same until the final whistle. At the end of yesterday's goalscoring drama, Maccabi's lead at the top of the Israel Premier league held at ten points with five games to play till the end of the season.
Even though Maccabi have a chance in next week's play-off round of celebrating the championship, goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has his mind on other matters: "I'm not thinking about championship celebrations quite yet, we still have games to play, we respect every rival and we'll have to wait and see what happens". Enyeama, whose eye-catching saves during the match helped preserve the draw, stressed that he wasn't the only one pulling his weight: "I had my work to do and I'm glad I succeeded in doing it. But don't forget that someone else scored the brace, others made the accurate passes that helped create those goals, still others defended with all their hearts. The deficit came early and with 70 minutes still on the clock I knew we could get back into it".
Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Oscar Garcia talked about the positives and the less positives he saw in the match: "I'm pleased with the way the team reacted after falling behind, but the first 25 minutes were very disappointing. We simply cannot afford to start a match like that, in particular against sides of the likes of Bnei Yehuda, who seem to give us a hard time at every occasion, last time out as well. We knew there'd be no easy matches in the play-offs. Perhaps the players were tired after three matches last week, but we looked to be back in full form tonight".
Midfielder Eran Zahavi, whose brace brought Maccabi back into the match, also had mixed feelings at the end: "From a personal standpoint of course I'm pleased with my form, three goals in the last two matches, but at the end of the day the brace only earned us a draw. We expected to win but on the other hand we could have lost too so you could say the result was a fair one".Midfielder Eran Zahavi, whose brace brought Maccabi back into the match, also had mixed feelings at the end: "From a personal standpoint of course I'm pleased with my form, three goals in the last two matches, but at the end of the day the brace only earned us a draw. We expected to win but on the other hand we could have lost too so you could say the result was a fair one".
