Striker Barak Badash, who sent the final pass that resulted in Maccabi's first goal at Kiryat Shmona, was disappointed with their last-minute equaliser, but added: "We're returning to Bloomfield to finish the job"
The first leg of Maccabi Tel Aviv's State Cup quarter-final tie at Kiryat Shmona ended in a somewhat disappointing draw, but left room for optimism ahead of the return leg next week in Tel Aviv. "Our approach to the game was really correct, everybody out there gave it their all," was the post-match assessment of striker Barak Badash, who played the first 77 minutes of the 1-1 draw. He was also credited with the assist on Maccabi's only goal, scored by midfielder Eran Zahavi in the dying moments before the break. But it was from the bench that he saw Kiryat Shmona equalise at the same stage of the second half: "Of course it hurts to concede an equaliser in the last minute of the game, but we have another match next week and I'm sure it'll be a different kettle of fish altogether. We're returning to Bloomfield to finish the job".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3TH7ZAwBuI
Badash appeared on the pitch with a guard for his nose, which he broke scoring the equaliser in the league tie against Kiryat Shmona at Bloomfield last week. He offered his take on the unfolding of events in the second half of the Cup tie last night: "They went on the attack with a lot of legs and we couldn't push them back far enough. They played long balls and that was difficult for us. It's a very difficult pitch and Kiryat Shmona are strong. But tonight was only half the story". Badash thinks Maccabi deserved more than a draw, but he's already looking ahead to the return leg next week: "It should've been a win and not a draw, but 1-1 away isn't a bad result at all. At Bloomfield it'll be a different story altogether and we'll be looking to lay the matter to rest".
Maccabi head coach Pako Ayestaran also gave his assessment of the team's performance on the night: "I think we had not a bad first half, really good ten minutes of the second half, and after the injury of Gili (Vermouth) we started losing the ball and we didn't have the timing in the middle. They overloaded the attack, they started kicking the ball long and we had to drop back". Asked if he thought the team's current run of somewhat tepid form might influence their performance in Saturday's league encounter at home to Bnei Sakhnin, Pako replied: "Not at all, it's a new game".
