Maccabi's veteran striker Barak Itzhaki is happy the team go into the play-offs with an increased lead at the top but warns: "We've still a lot of work ahead"
The pre-playoff section of the Israeli Premier ("Winner") League came to an upbeat conclusion today with Maccabi Tel Aviv's 2-0 win at Bloomfield Stadium over Hapoel Petach Tikva. It was the kind of performance head coach Pako Ayestaran loves to see in his players: "I think we had two clear different parts in both halves. The first twenty, twenty-five minutes was enjoyable, I think you cannot play better football. Afterwards we rushed the game a little. The second half was the opposite, we finished on a high". Pako was also pleased with the performance of striker Barak Itzhaki, who after a lengthy injury came on as a substitute in the second half: "We know that Barak Itzhaki is capable of great things and we are looking forward to more minutes of him".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0QfDroEKzY
Barak himself wasted little time on the pitch, quickly displaying some of his characteristically classy moves, including a juicy cross into the area and an attempt to beat the Petach Tikva keeper with a long ball after Itzhaki saw him straying far off his line. After the match he had this to say about his first appearance in a month and a half : "It takes a lot of hard work to get where I got tonight. But I'm glad I finally got back on the pitch and it felt good, that's what's most important so far I'm concerned". The veteran striker is also looking ahead to the top-six playoffs, which will begin on Sunday with an enticing home encounter against a resurgent Maccabi Haifa: "We've still a lot of work ahead, the play-offs will be very tough. Our first two matches are at home but against two very difficult opponents".
