Guy Aviv gave Maccabi Tel Aviv a one-goal advantage over Maccabi Haifa that held till a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser
The last match of the first round of games in the national Under-19 Premiere League presented Maccabi Tel Aviv with the opportunity to put pressure on Maccabi Haifa, with "Shachar" going into the match at Haifa's "Ketsef" training ground trailing the league leaders in the table by eight points. Thanks to a lead provided by a Guy Aviv goal, for the first 94 minutes it looked like "Shachar" would succeed in that effort. But then, deep into stoppage time in the 95th minute, came Haifa's dramatic equaliser off the boot of Dor Hugi, forcing "Shachar" to share the points and preserving Haifa's lead at the top of the table.
The first half started with Maccabi Haifa in control and they came very close to scoring when Shuval Gozlan latched on to goalkeeper Gal Tovli's deflection. Then in the 14th minute, against the run of play, "Shachar" took the lead when Guy Aviv recovered a ball he'd already lost to Haifa defender Omri Zaid and with only the goalkeeper to beat shot high in the net to put his side in front 0-1. The goal shifted the balance of the match in "Shachar"'s favour and Sharon Ziso, Dor Jan and Guy Cohen all had chances to threaten the hosts' goal.
The second half continued at the same pace, with Amir Turgeman's charges looking for a second with swift attacking football and Maccabi Haifa in search of an equaliser. Dor Jan came closest to scoring at the start of the half, hitting the crossbar with a shot from close range. On defence "Shachar"goalkeeper Gal Tovli made another great save that preserved Maccabi Tel Aviv's advantage until the 90th minute, when the match went into stoppage time. Unfortunately, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s discovered that sometimes football is played for as much as 95 minutes and just moments before the final whistle they conceded the dramatic equaliser. A defensive error presented Dor Hugi with an easy goal in front of an open goal and handed Maccabi Haifa their share of the points. A win would have brought Maccabi Tel Aviv to within five points of leaders Maccabi Haifa and opened up the title race considerably. But this second consecutive draw leaves them where they were before the match, eight points off the pace with Maccabi Haifa still firmly in the lead.
Next week Maccabi Tel Aviv will attempt to return to their winning ways with an away tie at Beitar Tubruk.
Line-up: Gal Tubali, Shachar Fiban, Daniel Schwartzbaum, Mansor Amash, Shaun Goldberg, Dor Buzaglo, Tamir Avrahamian, Sharon Ziso, Guy Cohen, Guy Aviv, Dor Jan
