A first-half goal by Omer Atzili spells defeat for Maccabi as they are beaten 1-0 by Beitar Jerusalem
Same venue, same opponent, same nemesis. Last December, Beitar Jerusalem midfielder Omer Atzili scored a last-minute goal at Haifa's "Sammy Ofer" Stadium to turn what looked like a certain Maccabi victory into a 1-1 draw. In tonight's return fixture at the very same stadium exactly three months later, Atzili was once again the architect of a disappointing evening for Maccabi Tel Aviv as his first-half goal proved decisive in Beitar Jerusalem's 1-0 victory.
In a match that began at a quick pace but with little in the way of genuine goalscoring opportunities, Beitar started the brighter side and ten minutes into the match midfielder Shlomi Azulay sent a screamer that whistled just past Maccabi keeper Juan Pablo's post. Maccabi saw their first real shot on goal come a quarter of an hour later when midfielder Dor Micha floated a high ball to striker Barak Badash whose header missed its mark. Eleven minutes after that Eran Zahavi uncharacteristically also tried to score with his head, getting first touch to a Mahran Radi corner, but the prolific midfielder saw his effort cleared by a tenacious Beitar defence. Responding sporadically on the counter, Beitar forced a number of saves by Juan Pablo. But one minute before the break, after dispossessing striker Itzik Cohen in his advance on goal inside the area, the Spaniard was unable to keep possession enabling Omer Atzili to get his boot to the ball and strike high into the Maccabi net to put his side ahead 1-0.
At the start of the second half Maccabi's Mahran Radi made two attempts from distance but both were unsuccessful. At the other end Juan Pablo came up with another heroic save after Beitar's Romanian midfielder Liviu Antal found space to pivot in the area and get off a strong shot that was headed for the net. Just past the hour mark Eran Zahavi saw a free kick fly over and later Dor Micha worked his way into space through the Beitar area but his finish was stopped by Beitar keeper Boris Klaiman. In the closing minutes of the match Klaiman continued to stay alert as he stopped a number of attempts by Maccabi to draw level, including substitute midfielder Nikola Mitrovic and once again Eran Zahavi. But in the end it remained 1-0 in favour of the Jerusalemites, only the fourth time that Maccabi have lost in the league this season and their first league defeat to Beitar since November 2011. So with just one more league tie before the start of the play-offs, Maccabi remain on top of the Israeli Premier League table but by the same four-point margin ahead of their nearest rivals Ironi Kiryat Shmona. Next Monday night they will return home to Bloomfield for their last normal season encounter against Hapoel Petach Tikva.
