Eran Zahavi was keen to put Monday night's missed penalty behind him but remains disappointed with the result: "We deserved to win"
Nearly two months have passed since Maccabi Tel Aviv played their last home game at Bloomfield Stadium. In the four home ties played prior to that seventeen goals were scored, so it was understandable that the sell-out crowd that came to see them face Hapoel Beer Sheva on Monday night expected to see more of the same. Plenty of pacey football, a missed penalty and a red card in injury time, all that and more was on the evening's menu, but unfortunately last night the forward line of the best attacking force in the Israeli Premier League was unable to score. When the press spoke to head coach Pako Ayestaran after Maccabi's first goalless draw of the league season, the question arose if that might not be down to not fielding a certified striker in the first eleven: "Not really. I think we have to find the right way to make more of it. But I think even today, not being fluid and not being at the top of our game, we had a few chances to score".
"For today we weren't able to break them and great credit to them as well because they were quite tight and together with two lines. They didn't allow us to play our game," the coach explained. "And probably because we didn't play fluently either. I think the start of the game wasn't as good as it was in the few previous games. I was really pleased with the way played in the last two games, not in the Toto Cup but in the two previous games we played really well. It was quite fluid and we were in the last third of the pitch creating chances. And today we weren't. ".
As a result of the draw, Ironi Kiryat Shmona have now opened up a four-point lead at the top of the Israeli Premier League table. Pako: "For now that's the reason we are second, because we are not playing better than Kiryat Shmona. They are first in the table. They are showing that they are doing better. Because they are winning more games and getting more points. This is the reason". But the Spaniard quickly added: "For now we have to play Kiryat Shmona and in the play-off we'll have to play another four games. In this case we still have a chance to turn everything around".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIgQ9DqLIAY&feature=youtu.be
Inevitably questions were also asked about Eran Zahavi, Maccabi's prolific midfielder who uncharacteristically missed a penalty in last night's match. The Spanish coach responded: "Anyone can miss a penalty. But in the past he's scored so many and he's proven in the past that he's a good penalty shooter. I think with Eran Zahavi nothing's changed. I think he's a player who competes every game, competes even in the training sessions. And for a striker, when the midfielders don't have their game, they're not fluid enough, it's more difficult. And today it was more difficult for them. Maybe in the last third of the pitch we were dribbling too much instead of passing the ball quicker, and we made these mistakes as well". Could not being a genuine striker be hampering Zahavi's role up front? Pako: "Eran Zahavi playing there has scored twelve goals. In this case it's not a bad position for him. Can he play as second striker? Of course. He's played that in the past and he did it well as well. He's played in the wide areas and done really well as well. We are lucky that he's a player that wherever you put him he performs".
Eran Zahavi himself, who received the League Management's December "Player of the Month" award before the match, remains confident, despite having missed the penalty. "It happens to players much better than me. I don't think it will have any effect on me, I hope next time it'll go in. I take full responsibility of course, it was a critical moment in the match, but now we're looking ahead to our next match, which will be very difficult". Much like his head coach, the sometime midfielder sometime striker was also asked about his positioning on the pitch: "When I scored three or four goals playing as a striker, nobody asked why I was playing that position. Of course it's a new role for me this season, but I've had a number of good games playing there so if the coach puts me there he obviously believes that's where I should be playing. For the good of the team I have to do the job the coach asks of me. That's all".
He then proceeded to give his take on Monday night's match: "Disappointing result. We looked the better side by far and we deserved to win. But it wasn't expressed in chances created or goals scored. Beer Sheva came to play on the counter and it was like that throughout the match, but they deserve all the credit because they got the result they wanted. We should have won on our return to Bloomfield. We didn't and we dropped points but we'll learn from our mistakes and correct them. The squad are good enough, I have complete faith in my team-mates and I know we're good enough. We just have to work harder and take all the points we need".
Finally, the star midfielder tried to damp down some of the speculation surrounding his future: "Every day I read something new about me, every day I'm making a move to yet another club and in the end every match I'm still here. I have a five-year contract at Maccabi Tel Aviv and that's where I'll be until further notice".
