MTA's Under-19s finished off their 2013/14 season with a 1-0 home victory against Hapoel Beer Sheva. Sohil Armeli scored the only goal
Today the 2013/14 Under-19 Premier League season came to a close, with Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" ending the year on a sweet note with a 1-0 home victory against Hapoel Beer Sheva at the Kiryat Shalom training ground. The team hit the ground running and took an early lead courtesy of the seventh league goal by midfielder Sohil Armeli, whose well-taken strike landed in the corner of the opposition net. Defender Guy Aviv and midfielder Matan Hozez both had first half opportunities to increase the home team's margin with a header and a long range effort respectively, but at the end of the period it was still Armeli's goal that stood between the two sides.
After the restart, "Shachar" went on the attack once again and created a number of inviting goal-scoring opportunities. Sohil Armeli rounded the Beer Sheva keeper but his finish rolled wide. "Shachar"'s holding midfielder Dan Glazer saw an opportunity to score his first goal of the season when he had only the keeper to beat but somehow he failed to find the net. At the other end Beer Sheva kept up their search for an equaliser but keeper Matan Ambar, standing for the first time in the MTA Under-19 net, preserved his side's advantage with an admirable double save. In the dying moment of the match, second half substitute striker Amit Farhi came close to doubling "Shachar"'s margin, but in the end it was the one goal that sufficed for a 1-0 victory over Beer Sheva.
"Shachar" head coach Ziv Arie's squad finish the 2013/14 season on a respectable 60 points, just two points behind league title winners Maccabi Haifa. In a short ceremony before the match they also took leave of two of their teammates, striker Dor Jan who has recently joined the senior squad, and midfielder Daniel Gretz, both of whom have spent the last three seasons on Maccabi's Under-19 squad. Former MTA and Israeli Council for Sports Betting chairman Gidon Brickman, father of the late Shachar Brickman in whose honour the MTA Under-19 team is named, was on hand with his wife to hand the two young stars flowers in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the success of Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19 squad.