The Yellow & Blue made sure to leave Bloomfield Stadium with a bang before their 3-year move to Netanya by overpowering Maccabi Haifa 6:0 led by an Eran Zahavi hattrick, along with goals by Tal Ben Chaim, Carlos Garcia and Haris Medunjanin. The big victory wasn’t enough to capture their fourth league title in a row as Hapoel Beer Sheva defeated Bnei Sakhnin 3:1 to win the Championship by two points over the Yellow & Blue. Maccabi will now get ready for the State Cup Final at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening.
Head Coach Peter Bosz started off Matchday 36 with Predrag Rajikovic in goal with Eli Dasa, Eitan Tibi, Carlos Garcia and Avi Rikan in front of him. Midfielders Gal Alberman, Nosa Igiebor and Eliel Peretz played in front of the defense while Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim and Captain Eran Zahavi provided the attack.
Igiebor featured for Maccabi in the first five minutes of the match as the Nigerian midfielder had a few chances but couldn’t find the back of Ohad Levita’s goal. In the 10th minute, Rikan sent Dasa a tremendous pass on the right side but the defender’s opportunity just went out over the corner of the goal.
After 15 minutes of quiet, Bloomfield burst into excitement in the 25th minute as Zahavi scored a brilliant goal, chipping Alberman’s tremendous pass over Levita and into the Haifa goal for the 1:0 lead. Zahavi had a chance to double the Yellow & Blue lead in the 32nd minute with a free kick from the top of the box but Levita made the save on number 7’s effort.
In the 40th minute Meshumar lost the ball right to Zahavi but his sharp angle attempt was blocked by Levita as the sides headed into the break with Maccabi ahead 1:0.
To open the second half Bosz inserted Haris Medunjanin in favor of Igiebor to change it up a bit on the pitch and the move paid off just two minutes later as Haifa defender Dekel Keinan pulled Zahavi down in the box after taking a Ben Chaim pass. Referee Orel Greenfeld issued Keinan a yellow card for his foul and Zahavi stepped up to slam home the spot kick from 11 meters to give the Yellow & Blue a 2:0 lead.
Maccabi youngster Eliel Peretz who had been active all match long had a wonderful opportunity in the 50th minute but Levita made the save while Ben Chaim’s scorcher from the left side went off of the post. However, Ben Chaim’s identical chance to his first in the 57th minute found its way past Levita for the 3:0 lead.
Not to be outdone, Zahavi followed up with his third of the night, tapping in a Ben Chaim pass in the 61st minute while Garcia scored a goal of his own from a Medunjanin assist in the box just two minutes later to give the Yellow & Blue a 5:0 lead. With Maccabi looking for more, Zahavi played king maker by assisting on a Medunjanin goal giving the hosts a 6:0 lead in the 66th minute.
As the match hit the 73rd minute, Coach Bosz made his second substitution of the match introducing Barak Itzhaki for the Captain, Eran Zahavi who was serenaded with a standing ovation for his historic record breaking season. Eden Ben Basat came on five minutes later for Ben Chaim as Maccabi looked ahead to their State Cup Final clash against the same Maccabi Haifa on Tuesday at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem as the match ended in a huge 6:0 victory to close out a 16 year run at Bloomfield Stadium prior to its upcoming renovation.
