Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" capture their first season 2012/13 title with a penalty shoot-out win over Ashdod FC in the U19 Super Cup
Under-19 Premier League champions two years running, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" today opened their 2012/13 season in an historic first time ever "Super Cup" against last season's Football Association Cup winners Ashdod FC. The match, held at Ashdod's "Yud Aleph" Stadium, was hardly a memorable one, with neither side creating much threat in front of goal. At the final whistle the game was still a goalless affair that required a penalty shoot-out to declare a winner. It was there that the charges of head coach Amir Turjeman outshot their opponents 6-5 to hoist the landmark trophy.
As one might expect from a first competitive match of the season, the two sides started the game at a slow pace. Not until just under the quarter hour mark did "Shachar" make their first serious attempt on goal, an excellent opportunity from close-range that fell to Sagi Dror, last season's double-winning U16 captain making his maiden appearance for the U19s. His effort though was blocked by the Ashdod keeper Gor Midan. Close to the half hour mark it was Ashdod's turn to pose a threat, but Niv Zarihan's powerful shot at the other end careened off the post of Maccabi keeper Gal Tovali's goal. These two efforts provided the only excitement in what proved to be a rather listless, and goalless, first half.
Five minutes after the restart it was once again Sagi Dror providing the fireworks for Maccabi's Under-19s with a powerful shot that Midan slapped away for a corner. Just before becoming one of "Shachar"'s seven second-half substitutions, Dor Jan also saw an effort to put his side ahead saved by the Ashdod keeper. Jan's replacement, Sagiv Yehezkiel, carried on where he left off by lifting a powerful shot just over the crossbar. Two minutes from time Ashdod almost snatched a dramatic winner but Or Einbrom's shot sailed just past the post and the match ended much as it had started – without any goals.
In the resultant penalty shoot-out Maccabi keeper Gal Tovali proved the star, scoring from the spot and saving the winning penalty from Ashdod's Yaniv Bitar, setting the stage for Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" to celebrate an historic first ever U19 Super Cup victory. On Saturday, Turjeman's squad will open their 2012/13 league season with a very intriguing tie against counterparts from Beitar Tubruk.
