Mavis Tchibota's second-half winner handed Maccabi's U19s a 0-1 away win at Beitar Tubruk and a successful closure to the league's first round
Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" finished their last match of round one of the national U19 Premier League in the same fashion as they have finished most of their previous fourteen league encounters – victoriously. Their opponents, fourth-placed Beitar Tubruk, represented a considerable challenge at their Netanya headquarters, but head coach Ziv Arie's lads were up for the task and returned home after winning 0-1 courtesy of a second-half strike by Congolese forward Mavis Tchibota. The win widened their lead at the top of the league to seven points after second-place Maccabi Haifa lost to Hapoel Ramat Gan, who themselves suffered defeat at the hands of Maccabi Tel Aviv only last week. But "Shachar" are not only round one leaders, they also have the best attack and defence in the league so far, with a jaw-dropping goal difference of 42, 51 goals scored to only nine conceded!
Maccabi opened the match in much the same form as they displayed last week against Hapoel Ramat Gan, with two clear-cut chances on goal, one for striker Yonatan Cohen and one for midfielder Eliel Peretz. The Maccabi pressure on the Tubruk goal then slackened and only just before the half hour were they able to conjure up another shot on goal, a Sohil Armeli header that sailed wide of the mark. With the hosts struggling to make work for the "Shachar" defence, the Maccabi onslaught continued and Yonatan Cohen caught Tubruk keeper Omer Bar off his line, only to see defender Dor Maymoni clear his shot at the last moment.
After the break Maccabi carried on where they had left off in the first half, this time with more accuracy. Just three minutes after the restart Mavis Tchibota and midfielder Matan Hozez breached the Tubruk defence with a double pass that enabled the Congolese to put "Shachar" in the lead 0-1. Yonatan Cohen and substitute striker Raz Itzhak both missed opportunities to increase the margin but Maccabi managed to hold on to the one-goal advantage until the end of the match largely due to the steadfastness of the back four, who left no chance for the home side to mount a credible assault on goal. The victory was "Shachar"'s twelfth in their fifteen round-one encounters, an outstanding record that sees them finish the round at the top of the national U19 Premier League, seven points ahead of their nearest rivals Maccabi Haifa. Next week "Shachar" will begin round two with an away encounter at Hapoel Rishon Lezion.
