Dor Micha is getting ready for Saturday's match, team-mate Barak Badash reveals the latest on his injury: "I'll rest a few days and come back even better "
Midfielder Dor Micha and striker Barak Badash shared the credit for bringing Maccabi Tel Aviv level at Monday night's dramatic home tie against Ironi Kiryat Shmona. Now both are getting ready for the next match at "Sammy Ofer" Stadium against Hapoel Haifa and both took time out to speak to the official Maccabi Tel Aviv website. Micha began by telling about how he felt ahead of the match: "It's a very important game, but from now on every match until the end of the season is crucial, especially with the play-offs just a few weeks away. We've only four games until then and we want to rake in as many points as we can so we can start the play-offs with as large a lead as possible". Micha explained that despite looking at three matches next week, the team are only focused on the first against Hapoel Haifa: "The tie is important in its own right, whatever connection it might have to the mid-week Cup tie against Kiryat Shmona".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPBbJkhsLeE
The young winger is confident that the opponents having just changed coaches won't have an effect on the match: "Maybe on them, but that's their lookout. For us it's an away tie and we're out to get all three points". Micha also had a word to say about the challenge the team have been facing all season long: "We're already used to seeing teams play in their own half when they face us and we'll simply have to find solutions to the problem. We work on it at trainings, try changing our formation. It's a fair guess these clubs will carry on playing that way so finding a solution is critical. They know it's a way of stopping us but I'm sure we'll figure out something".
With Gili Vermouth joining the Maccabi Tel Aviv attack force, competition for places in that part of the squad has only got greater. Micha sees that as an advantage: "There's a lot of talent there, a lot of really great players and the competition is fierce. In such circumstances everybody is working that much harder and when you've got somebody good playing alongside you you tend to look better out there anyway". Three days after the league tie against Kiryat Shmona, Micha was also keen to praise his team-mate Barak Badash, who headed in his cross to equalise dramatically five minutes from time at the expense of a broken nose: "That was a brilliant goal, a sign of real sacrifice and determination. He deserves all the credit and I'm really happy for him".
The striker himself spoke about his feelings, both physical and emotional, after the goal, and brought us up to speed on his situation: "It's no fun, believe me, but in reality it was worth it. I've been waiting for this goal a long time, especially in such an important game. I'm okay now, I had a rough couple of days with the pain and all and unfortunately it looks like I'll have to rest another couple of days, but I'll be all right. I hope I'll be fit for the match on Wednesday. Physically I feel great but I think they're afraid I might get a knock on my nose and that would only make things worse. So I'll rest a few days and come back even better".
