At a press conference ahead of tomorrow night's tie against Hapoel Beer Sheva, Maccabi head coach Pako Ayestaran spoke of the opponent: "A team that is a contender for the championship"
Following the international break, Maccabi Tel Aviv will tomorrow return to centre stage in the Israeli Premier ("Winner") League play-off campaign when they host nearest title rivals Hapoel Beer Sheva for an 8.55pm kick-off at Bloomfield Stadium. Head coach Pako Ayestaran will have a nearly complete squad at his disposal, with only midfielder Gili Vermouth still recovering from an ankle injury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh5ZuECS1Zo
At the customary pre-match press conference, the Spaniard was asked what kind of game he expected: "A tough game. A team that is a contender for the championship. The two previous games were difficult ones and I don't expect an easy game. I expect a tough game and a game where we will have to perform at our level to have a chance. You have to be ready when you approach a game that you can win, but you can lose as well. In this case we have to be focused on trying to keep going in the run we are in because I think in the last two games we played quite well. But Beer Sheva are in a good run as well. In this case they're going to be a tough contender and they know how to play. They've got quality, starting from the goalkeeper, a good back four, good players in the middle and in front. In this case it's a difficult team".
The coach was asked if he agreed that the match was more important, what the sports press in Israel like to call "a game for six points". Pako: "It's more important because this is the one we are going to play and every three points is important, against Beer Sheva, against any contender we are going to approach in the coming weeks. In this case it's a game of three points for me". It was suggested that as with the parallel fixture last year, a win tomorrow stretching Maccabi's lead at the top to eight points would create a gap that would be virtually "uncloseable". The Maccabi coach: "Nothing is 'uncloseable'. I remember in our first league in Valencia that we won. With ten games to go we were behind I think seven points and we won seven points in front. We closed a gap of nearly fourteen points. Anything can happen. You have to be ready to keep going, not take your foot off the gas, even if you win the next game".
