After a match that lasted two hours, Maccabi Tel Aviv made an early exit tonight from the coveted State Cup competition after losing 2-1 to Ashdod FC. Ashdod midfielder Ro'i Bekel scored from the spot just before the break but two minutes from time Maccabi midfielder Eran Zahavi headed in a corner by striker Munas Dabbur to send the match into extra time. One minute into the second half of time added on Maccabi were down to ten men when defender Yoav Ziv was sent off for a second bookable offence. Seven minutes later Ashdod's Nigerian striker Yero Bellow went down in the area and referee Alon Yefet pointed to the spot, enabling Ro'I Bellow to step up for the second time on the evening and score what proved to be the winning goal for the home side. Eran Zahavi and Munas Dabbur continued their efforts for the visitors but to no avail as Maccabi Tel Aviv departed from State Cup competition in the round of 32 and will now focus their efforts on the league, starting Sunday against Bnei Sakhnin.
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The first half was an uninspiring affair, and it was not until just past the twenty minute mark that the first serious scoring opportunity emerged. Ashdod's Serbian midfielder Aleksandar Davidov attacked down the left and passed on to Ro'I Bekel, whose shot from inside the area took a deflection off Maccabi defender Carlos Garcia and sailed over the net. A minute from the end of the first half, Maccabi defender Reef Peretz brought down Yero Bello in the area, leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty. Ro'i Bekel took the honours and shot past Maccabi's young goalkeeper Barak Levi to give the home side a 1-0 advantage going into the interval.
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After the restart the complexion of the match changed entirely, as Maccabi head coach Paulo Sousa attempted to inject some life into his side by bringing on top goalscorer Eran Zahavi and young striker Munas Dabbur. Ten minutes into the half Ashdod keeper Ofir Marziano was called into action to parry an effort by Maccabi's Yoav Ziv, and in the ensuing scramble in front of goal both defender Carlos Garcia and midfielder Dan Einbinder had a go but the Ashdod defence managed to clear. Maccabi continued to up the pressure and both team captain Sheran Yeini and young striker Gael Margulies missed from inside the area. With a little under a quarter of an hour left Maccabi launched a whole series of attacks, all of which were saved by Marziano, and a combined effort shortly thereafter by Yoav Ziv and Munas Dabbur ended in Eran Zahavi missing the target from close range. But just as the travelling supporters were beginning to lose hope, Zahavi headed in from a Munas Dabbur cross two minutes from time and the sighs of relief from the thousands of Maccabi fans that crowded the Ha Yud Alef Stadium were clearly audible. The two half-time substitutes had equalised and the match was headed into extra time.
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The first half hour was completely one-sided and played out entirely in the Ashdod half of the pitch. Two minutes in Ofir Marziano deflected a Zahavi effort and Maccabi midfielder Mahran Radi kicked the rebound high over the net. Before the half hour was up Radi would have another go but with the same result. A minute from the whistle that ended the first half of extra time, Yoav Ziv saw yellow for the second time for what the referee adjudged to be a dive in the area and Maccabi found themselves down to ten men. Seven minutes later a similar display by Ashdod striker Bello was rewarded with a penalty and Bekel converted his second spot kick of the evening to settle the score. Through further efforts by Zahavi and Dabbur Maccabi attempted to draw level once again, but this time to no avail leaving Maccabi to make an early departure from this season's State Cup competition. They will continue their league title run on Sunday at Netanya Stadium against Bnei Sakhnin.
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