Midfielder Eran Zahavi knows the importance of today's match: "We're looking to win this match like every other one"
It's no great secret that Maccabi Tel Aviv's star midfielder Eran Zahavi loves to score (he's already done so eighteen times this season alone), but title rivals Ironi Kiryat Shmona are a special target of his affections. As a Maccabi player he's found the net in all of his seven encounters with the club, and now he's getting ready for yet another opportunity to score in what will no doubt be a particularly intriguing face-off: "No question that this is a very important match for us, first in the league against the second. Now we're playing at home so we want to win this one even more, but that's our approach to every game and this time won't be any different".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GMfgGJBlxg
Zahavi is familiar with the abilities of Maccabi's closest title rivals, but he's hoping that at the end of the tie it'll be all smiles in the home-side dressing room: "We've always had good results against them at Bloomfield, but it's a tough outfit, a good and well-trained team. It won't be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination but we're looking to win this match like every other one". Tonight's 8.55pm kick-off will be the first of three contests between the two clubs to be played out in the next two weeks, after last Wednesday's State Cup quarter final first leg was postponed till Feb. 25th due to bad weather: "That makes absolutely no difference to the match today, we take every game as it comes and prepare ourselves accordingly. That applies to this match as well and we'll be out to show what we're worth and hope to bring joy to the club and the fans".
And while we're on the subject, Zahavi was keen to stress how important the fans are at the team's home matches: "The supporters at Bloomfield give us that something extra. They give us a big push forward and we'll be looking to reward them with all three points. It's not that the season will be over after this match, but they're an important three points for us and we'll be out to get that result".
