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Maccabi Tel Aviv's veteran striker Barak Yitzhaki made no secret of his own elation at his spectacular overhead goal against Maccabi Haifa: "Nobody's happier than I am"

Beating Maccabi Haifa is always a special occasion, especially when it's the second time in the season, a feat Maccabi Tel Aviv achieved for the last time exactly a decade ago. The team's 3-1 victory in front of 13,623 spectators was also their eighth in nine home matches this season and quite naturally, head coach Paulo Sousa could not have been more pleased: "This was an important victory at an important moment against an important opponent. Our play in every match is very balanced, with plenty of determination and consistency in everything we do, day after day, week after week, and that gets us these important results. The consistency we show is all the more remarkable in light of the difficulty in demonstrating that kind of ability and getting those kind of results in two important competitions. If you look at statistics from the past you'll see that in general when teams compete in Europe their league performances suffer. At Maccabi the hard work we're doing is bearing fruit and the players deserve a lot of credit for what we've achieved so far".

Like many of us who saw striker Barak Yitzhaki's overhead goal last night, the head coach too was visibly moved: "For whoever loves football, it's goals like these that make you really feel and live the moment. I always say it's not enough just to win, you have to win emotionally and Barak's goal was an absolutely amazing feeling, not just for me but for everyone who was at the stadium. That's what we're looking for, something to make us glad we're at the stadium watching moments like this".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRStIEb5MDY&feature=c4-overview&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg

Maccabi Tel Aviv captain Sheran Yeini admitted after the impressive victory that the team were in a good place as far as the rest of the season goes but warned that the road to the title is still a long one: "We're aware of the fact that we're in a good position but we're still taking it one match at a time because that's the only way to go, if you look too far ahead and don't concentrate on what's on your plate at the moment it shows up in your results". Team defender Yoav Ziv also stated that this impressive victory was no coincidence: "Nothing is taken for granted, no victory against any club and especially not against Maccabi Haifa, a team we regard as being very good and very important. We prepare for every match specifically and go out on the pitch to get a result by working our hardest".

Veteran striker Barak Yitzhaki tried to put into words what it was like to score that spectacular overhead goal and how he felt afterwards: "You don't think about it too much, I saw that the way the ball was heading toward me made an overhead kick possible so I did it. It wasn't until after I turned towards the goal that I saw it had gone in. No-one could be happier than me at the moment, it's for moments like these that we get onto the pitch, moments that bring as much joy as possible to our fans, and that's just what we did tonight".