The nine years without a win for Maccabi Tel Aviv against Maccabi Haifa at their Kiryat Eliezer Stadium have now been assigned to history. Here's how the squad members themselves reacted
The Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club awoke this morning to an historic day after the team comprehensively beat Maccabi Haifa 0-3 at their opponents' home ground, the Kiryat Eliezer Stadium. Nine years without a win in a similar fixture had finally come to an end.
As would be expected the squad were extremely pleased with the exceptional nature of the game and the result. Head coach Paulo Sousa said: "In the first half the two sides were level, we created chances but Maccabi Haifa opened well too. We respected that and played well and in the end we triumphed. We're happy because the victory strengthened the winning mentality of the club".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_oa9biWlUU&feature=c4-overview&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg
Defender Eitan Tibi had a word to say about the end of the nine-year drought: "We weren't thinking about that at all, just about how to win this specific match and I'm really happy we succeeded. We weren't thinking about our opponents, just about ourselves and that's how the professional staff prepared us for the match. No point in thinking about the end of the season because we've just got started, and it's up to us to carry on this way".
Striker Rade Prica, who came off the substitute's bench and in his half an hour on the pitch netted a brace, said: "It's a really great feeling for us, it's always great to score, especially in a tough match like playing Maccabi Haifa away. We beat them comprehensively and it was a victory we most certainly deserved. I expected to play but we have a long season ahead of us and it's important for everyone to get a chance on the pitch, you can't go into every match with exactly the same players. We were better than they were and we carved out better chances".
