Barak Itzhaki, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s striker looked back at his side’s 2:0 State Cup win to help the club advance to the Israel State Cup semifinals. Number 10 also discussed the upcoming league playoff round, playing Kfar Saba again on Saturday and takeaways from the second leg matchup:

“There is no such a thing as an unimportant match. Many players who took part haven’t played much in the league and everyone wanted to prove that they are good enough to play in the league. We took this game very seriously and we scored early on. It was a good match.”

About  the Under-19 players who were in the Starting XI:

“I think that this was the brightest moment of the match when two youth players who came through the youth department get an opportunity to start for the first team. Congratulations to them for having a good game and I hope that they will continue to improve going forward. We are here to help them out, cheer them on and get them ready for the future.”

Playing  Kfar Saba on Saturday yet  again:

“It seemed that Kfar Saba came into the match already looking towards the league game. We have to take this into account and understand that Saturday’s match will not be the same story we saw in the second leg of the State Cup. We’ll be focused on winning this very important league match.”

The first league contest ended in a goalless draw:

“They are a good team with an excellent coach. They have some terrific quality players who are young and know how to create chances. We have to be very careful since this will be a very difficult match.”

Money time:

“I’ve been nursing a small ankle injury over the last few weeks and I still have some pain that I am able to handle. Little by little I hope that I can go into the playoffs in the best shape possible and help out the team. Right now is money time and we have to make sure we are focussed on the task at hand.”