After spending the last 15 minutes of yesterday's home tie against Netanya between the uprights, Maccabi captain Sheran Yeini joked: "I let two balls go right through me"
Three and a half years have passed since Maccabi Tel Aviv's "Jack-of-all-trades", captain Sheran Yeini, last wore the goalkeeper's gloves, and the result then was a penalty kick by Hapoel Beer Sheva's David Revivo that sailed just beyond his reach. At last night's home tie against Maccabi Netanya, after Juan Pablo was sent off ten minutes from time with no substitutions remaining, Yeini was once again deputised to protect the champions' net, but this time he improved his performance and the goal remained untarnished. "I didn't know that he had quality in goal and Shura was the one who told us 'Sheran, Sheran'", said Maccabi head coach Pako Ayesteran after the match. "And probably he was right because I think the few minutes he played were great".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiYyPJ6Flt8
On a more serious note, Pako responded to criticism of the team's defences: "When we talk about defence it's the team, not the back four, the goalkeeper. When you don't defend the right way it's about the whole team and probably we lost a little bit of pressure in the middle and we allowed them to play behind our back four quite easily. They've got good runners, you know, and our defensive line is used to playing high but we lost pressure in the middle and that brought problems. We don't think about defending in the context of defence. For us we defend better when we move the ball better. The better we attack the better we defend. And today you saw in the first half we lost so many balls in the middle that were so easy. When you lose the ball so easily it is difficult to defend".
The Spaniard also had a word to say about striker Rade Prica, who last night scored twice after an extended absence from the pitch: "I think we've got a squad that is capable of coping with any player that is banned or injured. In this case it's Eran Zahavi and you saw the team is still able to score. And about Rade, he's another striker, I wouldn't say he's the best. He has different characteristics than (Barak) Badash and Badash I think has played two games and a half and the two games we played were probably the best football we played. In this case he probably has something to say about the game of football we play. And we've got Eden Ben Basat as well who adds different things. Different characteristics from different players and depending on the game, depending on the position and depending on the state of form, I will choose one or the other". And did he feel Rade took on suspended midfielder Eran Zahavi's central role for the evening? "Not really because if the ball hadn't arrived there I don't think Rade would have been able to score. In this case I think the team is the one that answered in the right way to the absence of Eran Zahavi".
Matchweek 9 will see Maccabi face current league leaders Ironi Kiryat Shmona. Will this be the match to decide the championship, one journalist wondered. Pako: "Still we are in November. There will happen so many things from now till May. I don't think that this game is going to set the future of either team. I think they've got a great defence but we've got a great attack as well. I think we've scored 22 goals in seven games and that's an average of more than three. In this case they say they will have confidence in defence, we have confidence in our attack and for sure we can defend better than we defended today".
Rade Prica, who last night scored his third brace since joining the club in January 2013, shared some of his feelings after the match: "I feel very good. It's been a long time since I played 90 minutes. It was nice to score a goal again". Asked about his leading role on the pitch, especially after the sending off of Juan Pablo, the striker added: "We had to work a little bit extra. Sheran did an amazing job in the goal. We tried to help him as much as we could. But he saved us also once".
Prica was also queried about his reaction to having spent so much time on the bench so far this season: "I think the team's been playing very well so of course I understand it that way but I'm working very hard in training and I hope I showed them that I want to play also. The last two games, against Hapoel I think I played okay for thirty minutes and today it was okay also but we have very good players so it's a tough decision every week for the coach to make".
But it was the team captain, Sheran Yeini, who stole the show last night when he stepped in at goal for a red-carded Juan Pablo with ten minutes left on the clock: "Maybe it's time for me to start joining goalkeeping practice once a month with (coach) Shura (Ubarov). Today I let two balls go right through me and that's awful," Yeini joked after the match. "Juan Pablo let me keep his jersey so I'll get everybody to sign it, I'd like that. He also wanted to give me the gloves and he managed to convince me so I'll take them too, even though he's got his daughter's name written on them – Noah. They just asked me if I wanted gloves of my own, so if I get them I'll write my wife's name on them – Shelley".
Yeini was also asked about his reaction to the disciplinary tribunal deliberations on the disturbances at last week's Tel Aviv derby: "We're trying to calm things down. Eran (Zahavi) talked to us about his 'pistol shot' goal celebrations and asked us not to copy him, even though none of us intended to anyway. As a club we signify something much more established, more tranquil, with an inner peace and confidence, and we don't want all this tumult. I don't think anyone can know what the tribunal will decide. What happened happened and we'll have to take the consequences. Obviously we hope that whatever the penalty it'll be as light as possible, because at the end of the day Maccabi Tel Aviv represent the best in football. We're working on all of this and doing our best to bring down the number of confrontations with referees, even though today I did say something to the ref, very politely, and I got cautioned anyway. Tensions are running high so it's our job to lower them, so our fans and all of Israeli society will get the right message".
Eitan Tibi, who tonight scored his first goal of the season and his second in Maccabi kit, had this to say after the match: "I'm one of those guys who wants to score as much as I don't want to concede. I did something tonight I've been waiting to do a long time and I'm glad it happened today. Maccabi Tel Aviv are a very strong club, we've got great players here and Eran is brilliant, but today we were really good out there. In the run-up we had to put up with a lot of media fuss but the lads are mature enough to put that all to one side".
The central defender continued: "We want to win our games with the biggest possible margin, but for us defenders it's about not conceding. We've been shipping a bit of late but given time I think that will stop too. We'll learn from our mistakes, we have a coach who can tell us how to improve for the next match. Right now though we have the Euro qualifiers so I don't want to say too much about our next league opponents. Kiryat Shmona are an excellent side, they've got a very strong social network too and I enjoyed every minute of the year-and-a-half I was there. But right now I'm at a big club like Maccabi and I couldn't be happier".
