Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under 17s missed a golden opportunity to win the "Champion of Champions" competition. Nearly All the other MTA Youth Teams were victorious on the last day of the season
After their impressive third place finish at the 40th International Pentecost Tournament U17 VfL Theesen in Germany, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under 17s returned home to play their third match in the National U-17 "Champion of Champions" competition. After having taken full points in their first two matches of the competition they hosted Maccabi Haifa in the third and final match of the tournament. While their green-clad rivals needed a win, for head coach Ziv Arie's Maccabi Tel Aviv side a draw would have sufficed to earn them the title of premier club of both the North and South divisions of the National Under 17 leagues. But two early Haifa goals put the game out of their control and in a one-sided affair their northern rivals added three more to no reply and the visitors walked off 0-5 victors. But despite the disappointing result, Maccabi's Under 17s can look back on an extremely successful season with an impressive championship that saw them lose just once in 26 league matches.
Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under 16s had a more successful finish to their "Champion of Champions" competition, beating Beitar Tubruk 5-0 in their final encounter. Having lost their first two matches of the tournament, head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's lads recovered to register a convincing victory over the side that finished third in the National Under 16 League North. Maccabi captain Ayalon Yerushalmi scored a brace while Tomer Altman, Raz Yitschak and Etai Aloni all added individual efforts.
Maccabi Tel Aviv's Children's Teams also ended their seasons yesterday. The Under 14s South finished with a 2-0 win against Hapoel Kiryat Ono, with goals from Yarden Shoeh and Guy Dahan. North ended with a 1-1 draw away to champions Ashdod FC, with Guy Shelah scoring Maccabi's goal from the spot. The Under 13s North, who secured the championship last week, added one final victory to their season with an overwhelming 6-0 victory over second placed Ashdod FC. South also won their last match of the 2012/13 season, 4-2 against Hapoel Rishon Lezion West.
