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Despite victory in the season's first Tel Aviv derby, new coach Pako Ayestaran believes there's room for improvement: "We didn't have control of the ball"

With both Maccabi and Hapoel going into this final "Toto" (League) Cup group 2 fixture with four points, Tel Aviv's yellow half took control of the encounter and this season's first municipal bragging rights. A lone goal by winger Tal Ben Haim settled the tie in Maccabi's favour and sent the side through to the competition's two-legged quarter finals, scheduled to begin this Saturday. The derby was also the first appearance on the touch-line of new Maccabi head coach Pako Ayestaran, who later analysed his side's performance and explained that there was much room for improvement: "From my point of view we have work to do. The best we can take from this game is the atmosphere and the result. We didn't play well. I think we had to take control of the game, and we had control just the first ten minutes of the first half and the ten or fifteen minutes of the second half. The rest we weren't dominant, we didn't have control of the ball and I think Hapoel was more dominant than us. It's not about the defence, it's about the team. Everybody defends, everybody attacks.and sometimes the mistake is not from the ones in front, sometimes it's from the ones in the back and they don't push out enough. In this case as a team we were soft but especially we were not able to control the game. The question is you get more tired when you move badly but when you're moving in the right way you don't get tired. The tiredness came because we didn't move in the right way".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW4h9nRXci0&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg

Ayestaran's reactions seemed to be out of synch with the atmosphere in Bloomfield Stadium itself. The new head coach was asked if he was aware of how important the derby was to the club and the fans: "Not really but the feeling of the coach is always dependent on the performance of the team. And the performance of the team today wasn't good. My feeling independent of the atmosphere wasn't good. We weren't even close. I was talking with the players because sometimes when they did what was expected of them things went well. I think we have to realise that we have to work a little bit on the style of the game because it's going to be difficult if each one of us makes a different movement on the pitch".

Ayestaran put Serbian midfielder Nikola Mitrovich in the first eleven for his first appearance of the new season and was very impressed with what he saw: "He was probably the best player in our team today. He's a player from the squad and I wanted to see him. I think we have to use all our potential and while he's a player from Maccabi I want to see him. And he gave me a very good impression". As for young international Barak Levy, who was last night's first-choice goalkeeper, Ayestaran said: "We have two grand goalkeepers. Juan Pablo is a great goalkeeper and Barak Levy as well, and depending on their performances, that'll be the one that gets the possibility to play, like in any other position. I don't think the goalkeeper is different to the fullback".

The match's lone goalscorer, Tal Ben Haim, made no secret of his joy after the match: "I've waited a whole year for this goal. I know it sounds trite, but the most important thing is winning. We're not all that chuffed, we can put on a far better display but where the derby is concerned I'm just happy we did our job and won so that now we have time to prepare for the league. And if I say that we didn't play well enough tonight I might as well say we're not ready for the league. But we will be, I'm certain of that". As for the new coach Ben Haim said: "He has a totally different philosophy, much more like last season. In any case we're a team that can adjust very quickly and I'm sure that by the next match you'll be seeing his influence". The winger was asked specifically about what the new coach's demands were for his first match last night: "He talked to us at the break about a few things he wasn't happy about and wanted changed. You could see the change in the second half, we changed a few tactical things and we played better. What's important on a day like today is winning because after all it's a derby, and it makes no difference if it's the League Cup, the league or the State Cup. Apart from that there's not much more to take from the game tonight".

Defender Yuval Shpungin, who for the last four and a half years played abroad and therefore saw no derby action, was also pleased with the result, though he also saw room for improvement: "Of course I'm happy, it's always great to win, especially if it's a derby. I don't like talking just about the defence, it's about our whole defensive set-up, from the goalkeeper all the way up to the strikers. The coach expects a lot and that's a good thing, he wants a lot from the back four and we'll have to work hard and pull ourselves up". Shpungin was on the bench for Maccabi's 2nd leg Europa League play-off match against Greek side Asteras Tripoli but took a very analytical view: "There's a lot of professional considerations involved. I don't get hung up on one particular match, I just want the team to succeed and of course when I get an opportunity to play I want to prove myself. Maccabi have won the title for two years running so it goes without saying that we need a good squad with lots of depth and that means a lot of healthy competition. And whoever proves himself gets to play".