A winning week-end in the national Youth Cup competitions for Maccabi's Youth Division Teams, with four reaching the semi-finals and one the finals
Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s reached the semi-finals of their national Youth Cup competition with a 3-0 victory over Bnei Sakhnin. Continuing a pattern established in the last three rounds, in which they scored 14 goals without conceding, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" repeated the sequence against their northern neighbours from the national Under-17 League North. Matan Hozaz scored Maccabi's first goal, his second in Cup competition and ninth all told. Defender Omer Priov doubled Maccabi's advantage just after half time with his second Cup goal. Near the end of the match, Guy Aviv sealed "Oded"'s rise to the semi-finals with his 14th goal in all competitions.
The Under-16s also kept a clean sheet in a victory that put them in the semi-finals of their Cup competition. Head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's charges were away at Ironi Modi'in and won 2-0 on goals from Eilon Yerushalmi and Roy Tsarom. The Under-15s, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", also advanced to the semi-finals of their competition after a dramatic extra time 2-1 victory over Maccabi Petach Tikva. Maccabi Tel Aviv took the lead in the first half off a goal by Roy Ronen, his 18th of the season in all competitions. But in the second half the visitors equalised from the spot and sent the match into extra time. But Maccabi Tel Aviv substitute Sanir Lugassi's dramatic late winner avoided a penalty shoot-out and sent the Tel Aviv into the semi-finals.
Like their older under-17 counterparts, Maccabi's Under-14 Team South also hosted their Bnei Sakhnin rivals at Kiryat Shalom training ground and beat them by the same 3-0 margin. All three goals were scored by Almog Ayalon, who sent his side into the semi-finals of their Cup competition, the fourth of the Maccabi Youth Division's teams to do so this past Saturday. But oneMaccabi team have already made it to the finals, Under-13 Team South, having finally come out on top of a topsy-turvy goalfest against Ashdod FC by the score of 9-5. They will play Maccabi Petach Tikva in the finals.
