Maccabi Tel Aviv have opened up a three point cushion at the top of the Israeli Premier League and in doing so have become the only team in Europe not to have conceded a goal in league play so far this season
The squad of Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa are only one match away from breaking the Israeli record currently held by now defunct Hapoel Yehud, who managed to go six-and-a-half league matches into a season without conceding a goal. After finishing yet another league match last night with a clean sheet, and winning a fifth consecutive league encounter leaving them atop the Israeli Premier League three points ahead of their nearest adversary, Maccabi Tel Aviv will now turn their focus to their European campaign. Before they do, head coach Paulo Sousa took time to react to last night's 1-0 victory against Ironi Ramat Hasharon: "This match meant a lot more to me than just the three points. It was a difficult a match, just as I had anticipated, with only two days of training with a full squad prior to the game. It was a different atmosphere at a different venue and I would like once again to thank our fans who stood behind us even with that different atmosphere. We created a number of chances that with a little more composure could have won us the match and that's why I'm happy with the performance because at the end of the day that's our goal, to win our matches despite the difficulties".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4-D9vuz1jQ&feature=youtu.be
As for the changes he made at half time, Sousa had this to say: "Our tactics are to win every match and tonight the players brought a dynamic into the match by the way they played and read the game". Sousa was also asked about the team's upcoming Europa League match against Eintracht Frankfurt: "I'm a man of faith, always positive and I always believe in my players, but at the same time I'm realistic. What the players have done is what I've been asking for since my first day here, to be ambitious, dominant, we want to display Israeli football at its very best and that's what we'll try to do in Frankfurt".
The match's lone goalscorer, midfielder Eran Zahavi, had this to say at the end of the match: "I don't agree with what they're saying, that 'Maccabi can't function without Zahavi'. We're a team, a good team and just because we were struggling a bit in the first half means nothing. We were creating chances in the first half too and the fact that we didn't score, well, that's another matter. At the end of the day I'm happy I came in, managed to score and helped the team to win".
Zahavi added: "It's not easy to play at this stadium (Ramat Gan), there's not much of an atmosphere, and that's why a word of gratitude is due to our fans, 16,000 of them came to the match. At Bloomfield (Stadium) that would have felt entirely different, but here those numbers lose their proportion. No question about it, it's hard to play against a side that keep the whole team defending on their half of the pitch, but that's also part of the joy of being one of the top clubs. Part of the challenge is to break down that defence and we were able to create a lot of chances, just because we didn't score five, six goals, that doesn't mean anything. What's most important is that we took three valuable points and we'll try to carry on from there".
As for Thursday's Europa League tie, Zahavi said: "(Eintracht) Frankfurt will be another story altogether, but that's what makes football the great game it is, to be there, to enjoy, to try to display our brand of football at the very highest levels and if you ask me we've nothing to lose in a match like this. We're just hoping to return with a good result".
