Ahead of tomorrow night's match against Hapoel Ashkelon, all you ever wanted to know about Maccabi's record since 1948 in the last sixteen of the State Cup. And more . . .
Home and away
Maccabi Tel Aviv have reached the quarter finals of the prestigious Israeli State Cup competition 36 times. 17 times they've been knocked out in the last sixteen. Tomorrow night's tie at Bloomfield Stadium will be the 33rd time Maccabi have hosted in the last sixteen, against 29 games played away (including replays). Just for the record: One match, against Shimshon Tel Aviv in 1961, was played at a neutral venue.
First to last
Legendary striker Yehoshua "Shaya" Glazer is Maccabi's all-time leading goalscorer in the last sixteen, having sent 7 past opposition goalkeepers. In 1952 he also scored Maccabi's first ever goal in the last sixteen, with Zambian striker Emanuel Mayoka having scored the last in 2010.
Spot on . . . and off
Emanuel Mayoka's goal came in the 37th minute of the last of 4 times Maccabi's last-sixteen contests have gone on to penalty shoot-outs. It was also the second time the team lost from the spot, in this case in their first ever last-sixteen encounter with Beitar Jerusalem. Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Netanya on the other hand are Maccabi's most frequent last-sixteen opponents, 4 times each.
Southern winds
Maccabi's encounter with Hapoel Ashkelon will be only the 5th time they've faced last-sixteen opposition from the southern part of Israel. Maccabi have won three of those contests, twice against Hapoel Beer Sheva and once against Ashdod FC in 2005, when they went on to win the State Cup for the last time. Their only "southern" defeat was against Maccabi Ironi Ashdod, who merged with Ashdod FC in 1999.
A first time for everything
Tomorrow night will be the 1st time ever that Maccabi have faced Hapoel Ashkelon in any stage of the State Cup competition. In the Israeli Premier league the two clubs have met 4 times, with Maccabi having won 3 of the encounters.
A last time for everything (we hope)
Maccabi have faced lower division opponents in the last sixteen 18 times. Only 3 of those encounters have resulted in Maccabi's being knocked out of the competition. The last time that occurred was in 2006, when the then second division side Hapoel Acre subjected Maccabi to a surprising 4-0 humiliation.
