Goals by Rade Prica, Eran Zahavi, Tal Ben Haim and Mavis Chibote handed Maccabi a 4-1 victory in the team's last friendly ahead of Santa Coloma
Five days before the first official fixture of the 2014/15 season gets underway, Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Hapoel Petach Tikva 4-1 in a friendly match played at the Kiryat Shalom training ground. This last game before the team's 2nd round Champions League qualifier against Andorran champions Santa Coloma opened with pressure from the home side which reaped rewards early on with a goal by Swedish striker Rade Prica, with an assist from midfielder Eran Zahavi. Ten minutes before the break the two reversed roles, as Prica burst into the area and laid off to Zahavi in front of an open goal. Three minutes later Zahavi was also involved in Maccabi's third, his high effort being parried by the Petach Tikva keeper in the direction of winger Tal Ben Haim, who nodded in for 3-0. Not until twenty minutes from full time were the visitors able to pull one back, courtesy of of Michael Samama, but it was Maccabi's Mavis Chibote who would have the last word of the match. Nine minutes from time the 18 year-old Congolese striker netted his second goal of the pre-season to sign off on the final score 4-1 in the home side's favour.
Maccabi Tel Aviv's next match will be the first leg of their Champions League 2nd round qualifier against Andorran champions Santa Coloma. The first leg will be played in the Andorran capital next Tuesday July 15th at 9pm after UEFA's decision today that the order of the home and away legs determined in last month's Champion's League draw would be reversed, leaving Maccabi to host the Andorrans on July 22nd. Information about ticket sales for the match will be published in the course of next week at the club's official website and in the social media.
