At the end of Maccabi's 4-1 rout of Beitar Jerusalem at Bloomfield tonight, goalscorers Dor Micha and Rade Prica took the time to share their thoughts on their team's impressive performance
Tonight Maccabi Tel Aviv welcomed traditional rivals Beitar Jerusalem to Bloomfield Stadium for the first time in the 2014/15 season in their fourth top-six Israeli Premier League playoff tie, and at the end of the evening there were many reasons to celebrate. By comprehensively beating them 4-1, Maccabi not only maintained their fortress on home turf, where they haven't lost since the end of the 2012/13 season. They also defeated their rivals from the nation's capital for the first time since the start of the 2014/15 season. The home side put on a commanding display, with stand-out performances from, among others, midfielder Dor Micha, who scored twice, and striker Rade Prica, who scored just four minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Speaking after the match, Dor Micha took the opportunity to react to the recent announcement that team captain Sheran Yeini will be heading off at the end of the season to play in the Dutch Eredivisie: "Personally I hope we'll keep the current squad intact as much as possible. I'll miss Sheran a lot, we've been together in the dressing room for five years now".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SwbLcADmZI
Micha, who without any question turned in his best performance of the current season, made no secret of his pleasure at the evening's result and at his own personal contribution to the effort: "I suppose you could say that that second goal of mine really stole the show. It's my first brace as a senior team player and it's a fantastic feeling. It's a great confidence booster that (head coach) Pako (Ayestaran) gives me the incentive to play. It just shows how much faith he has in me and I just want to repay that faith on the pitch. I've earned my place in the eleven and I'm happy to support the team every time I go out there". The young midfielder was also enthusiastic about the second-half substitutions that altered the complexion of the match in Maccabi's favour: "It's great to have a coach taking the right decisions that help us out on the pitch, and a bench with such great players that add quality to our game".
One of those second-half substitutions was Swedish striker Rade Prica, who after a long absence through injury scored Maccabi's second goal just four minutes after coming in off the bench. His delight with his recent performances was clearly visible: "In the last games I feel really good again and it's nice to feel fresh again. I said to myself tonight I'm going to go in and score a goal. It took five, six minutes and then the goal was there. It felt really nice and it felt like a big release. The feeling when they're shouting my name is one of the best feelings I will have in my whole career and I will miss that feeling the day I stop playing. My years here have been amazing and our fans are amazing, I love them". Asked if he received such crowd support when he played in his home country Sweden, the 35 year-old Prica replied: "No, never. My years here have been amazing and our fans are amazing, I love them". Prica also expressed regret that his family was not here to hear the Maccabi fans chanting his name: "All of them miss Israel. My wife told me today 'I can't wait to visit you'". Was that perhaps an indication that he's planning to stay at Maccabi next season? "I take one game at a time now and then I'll see what happens next year". Finally, with Maccabi now ten points ahead of their nearest rivals Hapoel Beer Sheva, he was asked about the prospect of nailing down the title as early as the beginning of May when the team travel to play Maccabi Haifa at their brand-new "Sammy Ofer" Stadium. Prica: "It sounds nice".
