At the press conference ahead of Maccabi's Monday night encounter with Beitar Jerusalem, head coach Pako Ayestaran was reminded of Beitar's last-minute equaliser last time around: "we have to adapt to the new way they are approaching the games"
Tomorrow (Monday) night at 8.55 pm, Maccabi Tel Aviv will appear at Haifa's "Sammy Ofer" Stadium for the second time this season to face Beitar Jerusalem in gameweek 25 of the Israeli Premier ("Winner") League. Tomorrow, as back in December, the neutral venue is the result of the host's home-venue ban. Midfielder Gili Vermouth and striker Radi Prica are still unavailable for Maccabi through injury, with winger Tal Ben Chaim also in doubt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwB331ushDY
Moments before Maccabi's final practice ahead of the match, head coach Pako Ayestaran and ex-Beitar midfielder Dan Einbinder appeared at the pre-match press conference. The coach was first asked if Maccabi's persuasive 3-0 victory over Kiryat Shmona in the return leg of the State Cup quarter final last week had reduced the pressure on his team: "It probably will be for a few days. You know that here the pressure goes up and down depending on the results and depending on the performances. In this case if it doesn't come back it will be a sign that we are doing well, but you never know what is going to happen in the future. We shouldn't take anything for granted. We know that it's going to continue being difficult. We cannot take our foot off the gas because we have to keep our pace independently of what the rest of the teams do. This is our way and it's not a signal to think everything is done".
Pako also had a word to say about the last-gasp Beitar equaliser that denied Maccabi the full three points the last time the two teams met: "It was a game that looked finished and they drew in the last minute. But you cannot take too many things (from that match), especially for a team that has changed coaches. Now I think they are playing differently and we have to adapt to the new way they are approaching the games. They are really well organised. They are a team that know how they want to approach the game. They know where they want to regain the ball and the way they want to make the break and we will have to be ready for that. But I think it's going to be a difficult game, especially because it was a team that was built to fight for the championship and the players are still there. In this case it's not going to be easy".
The Spaniard was also reminded that there were rumours that as part of the deal that saw Gili Vermouth move to Maccabi from Hapoel Tel Aviv, the player sitting next to him, midfielder Dan Einbinder, might be going the other way. Is the coach happy he wound up staying? "Of course. He has the character to show that he's a player that is capable enough to break into this squad and into this line-up".
Einbinder himself preferred to begin by addressing himself to Monday night's encounter against the club where he began his footballing career: "I'm sure Beitar will go into the match with a lot of determination and very motivated, maybe even more so because of recent rattling events at the club. Quite a bit has changed since I was there. Beitar are a big club with a loyal fanbase that will all pitch up for the match. Our job is to do what we like doing most – winning".
As for his recent improvement in form that has seen him return to the squad and the first eleven, the midfielder added: "My job is to show the coaching staff that I'm good enough to play. Last year I was central to the great season we had. My injury at the start of this season was bad timing of course because we were just changing coaches, but anyone who knows me also knows I'm a strong guy with a strong character. I've worked hard to impress the staff and I'm glad that in the two Cup ties against Kiryat Shmona we played well, me included. I want to carry on playing till the end of the season to keep up my confidence".
Now that Maccabi have won the tie and reached the State Cup semi-finals, Einbinder was keen to share his feelings about the significance of the team's success: "It's important for us to perform well at every match. That's the way the coach wants it. That's what he wants from us and it's up to us to put that into practice. In the return leg against Kiryat Shmona we did it in the best possible way, we didn't even give them a hope of scoring. But that's history now, now we're looking ahead to Beitar"..
