Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under 12 North, Under 10 South and Under 14 South all celebrated the Youth Division's first Cup triumphs. The Under 16s booked their place in the finals
This past week the trophy cabinet at Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division added three new Cup trophies to its collection. At Thursday's second annual Israel Football Association open day at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan, the Under 12 North team had the honour of being the first Maccabi Tel Aviv side to raise the National Cup. Under the assured guidance of head coach Asaf Propheta they completed the work started in their semi-final win against Hapoel Ra'anana by beating Hapoel Rishon Lezion 2-1 in the finals and ensuring the Cup remains in the Maccabi Youth Division cabinet, where it has resided over the past two years under the ownership of Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under 12 team South.
On the same day two other Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division teams played their Cup final matches as well. It was Maccabi's under 10 South team that raised the Division's second Cup of the day after they beat their namesakes from Petah Tikva by a score of 2-1. Less successful were lads of the under 10 North team, who lost their Cup final to Hapoel Rishon Lezion.
Only last Saturday Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under 16s won their league match against Beitar Jerusalem 2-0 to draw level on points in the league table. In a match held on Wednesday at "Beit Hanivcharim" in Shfayim they repeated that feat with a dominating 3-0 performance against their rivals from the capital in the semi-finals of the Youth National Cup. The team's outstanding goal scorer in the league, Hadar Levi, netted a first-half brace to bring his Cup total to three. Itai Aloni added the third before the half-time whistle to ensure Maccabi's Under 16s booked their place in the Youth National Cup finals, also to be held at "Beit Hanivcharim" in Shfayim next Wednesday, April 3rd at 4 P.M., where they will face their northern rivals Maccabi Haifa.
The last Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division side to raise the Youth Teams National Cup were the Under 14 South team who convincingly beat FC Ashdod 4-0 on Saturday. Yarden Shoa scored a brace while Ilon Almog and Yarin Kasser added the other two. In another final held on Saturday at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan, Maccabi's Under 13 North team let a 2-0 advantage slip through their hands by conceding four to Beitar Tubruk to lose 4-2.
At the end of the day Maccabi Tel Aviv's Children's teams won three of their five Youth National Cup finals with the Youth teams edging towards the final rounds this week. The Under 16s and Under 15s will be playing their finals this coming Wednesday the 3rd of April, also at "Beit Hanivcharim" in Shfayim, while the Under 17s will play their semi-final match at the end of this month.
Photographs – Oded Carni, the Israel Football Association website
