After advancing to the quarterfinals from the group stages, Maccabi Tel Aviv hosted Kiryat Shemona in the first of two legs in front of 800 fans as the Yellow & Blue took the 3:2 victory thanks to a brace by Eden Ben Basat and a single marker by Dor Micha. Ezechiel Ndouasel and Ofir Kriaf found the back of Daniel Lifshitz’s goal. Over 100 new immigrants, Olin Hadashim from Nefesh B’ Nefesh along with 30 Bnei Menashe Olim from India as part of Shavei Israel and 60 Special Olympics Athletes were in attendance getting a taste of the Yellow & Blue.
Head Coach Shota Arveladze made wholesale changes to the Starting XI as second choice keeper Daniel Lifshitz opened in goal with a defense of Avi Rikan, Egor Filipenka, Dor Peretz and Yuval Shpungin. Captain Gal Alberman started the game in the midfield along with Nosa Igiebor and Eliezer Peretz, while Dor Micha, Sagiv Yehezkel and Eden Ben Basat provided the offense.
First Half
It took Maccabi only 4.5 minutes to score as Dor Micha took the ball ten meters from the goal went by four defenders and sent Eliel Peretz a brilliant pass. The young midfielder sent the ball right back to number 15 who slotted home the Yellow & Blue’s first goal of the evening giving Maccabi an early 1:0 lead.
In the 33rd minute, Micha almost helped Maccabi to take a 2:0 lead when he gave Igibeor a terrific chance but the Nigerian’s effort was saved by the keeper. At the other end of the pitch, Shlomi Azulay almost drew his side even, but he missed on a one-on-one attempt in front of Lifshitz.
With three minutes to go in the half, Eliel Peretz was handed a gift by Oran Bitton. Peretz passed the ball right to Ben Basat who easily scored giving the Yellow & Blue a 2:0 advantage at the break.
Second Half
Both sides made substitutions to begin the second half as Eli Dasa and Eitan Tibi replaced Gal Alberman and Nosa Igiebor, with Dor Peretz and Avi Rikan moving to the midfield. There was a scare at the start of the half as Lifshitz took a ball to face knocking the keeper out cold. After being attended to by the medical staff for a few minutes he was back on his feet and continued in the contest.
In the 54th minute, Ezechiel Ndouasel scored off of a goalie kick by Lifshitz helping Kiryat Shemona cut the Maccabi lead to 2:1 and continued poor play almost led to the tying goal by Mauricio.
Coach Arveladze made two more changes in the 62nd minute with Oscar Scarione and Vidar Kjartansson joining the fray in place of Dor Micha and Yuval Shpungin. In the 69th minute Eliel Peretz again played a factor in a Maccabi goal sending Sagiv Yehezkel a perfect pass who in turn found Ben Basat’s head to put the ball home for a 3:1 advantage. However, just a few minutes later Ofir Kriaf cut into the Maccabi lead once again, making the score 3:2 which remained until the final whistle.
The second leg will be played in Kiryat Shemona on November 30th and now Maccabi will begin preparations in earnest for their top of the table battle with Hapoel Beer Sheva at Turner Stadium on Sunday October 30th.
