The Yellow & Blue only needed one goal and they received it from Eden Ben Basat as Number 9 scored the lone marker of the evening in the 1:0 victory. Keeper Haviv Ohayon picked the shutout and Yossi Benayoun was named Man of the Match by you the fans on the Official Maccabi Tel Aviv Twitter Account @MaccabiTLVFC as the club will now prepare for the second leg of Europa League third round action on Thursday night.
Head Coach Shota Arveladze took advantage of the Toto Cup to give some of the squad who have yet to get minutes playing time. Starting in goal was youngster Haviv Ohayon with Eli Dasa, Omri Ben Harush, Eitan Tibi and Tel Ben Haim starting in front of him. Featuring in the midfield was Eyal Golasa, Eliel Peretz, Haris Medunjanin and Yossi Benayoun. Barak Itzhaki was the acting captain while Eden Ben Basat played beside him up front.
First Half
Eyal Golasa, making his first start in the Yellow & Blue picked up a yellow card after just a couple of minutes as the midfielder was cautioned for a reckless tackle. In the 17th minute some aerial action between Itzhaki, Ben Basat and Benayoun ended with number 51’s effort being blocked by Dor Elu to keep the match goalless.
As the game hit the 38th minute Golasa cut in from the left side but his screamer went flying over the goal as the contest remained 0:0. Just one minute later Itzhaki’s sharp header also went over the bar as Maccabi inched closer and closer to scoring a goal as the half came to an end.
Second Half
To begin the second half, coach Arevladze made wholesale substitutions as Dor Peretz, Egor Filipenko and Oscar Scarione all entered the match for Dasa, Tibi and Medunjanin as a total of five subs are permitted in Toto Cup play. The boss’s changes almost paid dividends immediately as Scarione’s precise right side free kick found Eliel Peretz’s head but his effort just clanged off of the bar and out to safety.
Finally in the 61st minute the Yellow & Blue broke the ice as Ben Basat put away a nifty pass by Benayoun in the box to give Maccabi a 1:0 lead. Itzhaki began the play as the acting captain found Benayoun with a fine ball deep to the right side of the area. The veteran midfielder then passed it to a wide open Ben Basat on the left side of the box who slammed it into the top shelf as Number 9 picked up the home side’s first goal of the competition.
Petach Tikva then had a pair of chances in the 68th and 71st minutes as the visitors looked for the equalizer, however, Hagai Goldenberg’s chance on a counter attack went out and Yellow & Blue keeper Ohayon made an off balance quick save that could have resulted in an own goal.
In the 78th minute Nirel Mahpod had a chance to draw his side even but his left side attempt went way wide right as Maccabi continued to hold the slim one goal advantage. The Yellow & Blue searched for an insurance marker but none was needed as they wrapped up a tidy 1:0 victory on Matchday One of the Toto Cup.
Next up is the second leg of Europa League third round qualifying as Maccabi will host Pandurii on Thursday evening, 20:30 at the Netanya Stadium with Shota Arveladze’s squad holding a 3:1 lead from the first leg that was played last week in Romania.
