The State Cup Quarterfinals will be a two-legged tie as Maccabi Tel Aviv will meet Maccabi Petach Tikva who are also are battling with the Yellow & Blue at the top of the table in league play. Let’s take a look back at a couple of matches from the competition that led Maccabi to the coveted trophy

2001/02 Season, State Cup Final: Maccabi Tel Aviv 3:0 Maccabi Petach Tikva
Ramat Gan Stadium was packed with over 35K fans for the first of two Israel State Cups in a row that Maccabi would win. But well before Avi Nimni and Tal Banin hoisted the hardware, Nir Levin’s squad had to get the work done on the pitch. Rodrigo Goldberg headed in the first goal in the 56th minute and a quarter hour before the end of the contest Eli Bitton added an insurance marker. However, if the fans thought that would be the end of the Yellow & Blue scoring, they were mistaken. Avi Nimni put the cherry on top of the victory with a 90th minute strike that sealed the deal and gave Maccabi their 20th Cup in franchise history.

2004/05 Season, Semi-Final: Maccabi Tel Aviv 2:1 Maccabi Petach Tikva
The season may have ended with the Cup in hand but it was definitely a difficult road to get their as Maccabi defeated Maccabi Herzliya on penalties in the final. The semi-final match versus Petach Tikva was also challenging, as the Yellow & Blue needed extra time to advance to the grand finale. Pesach Tikva featured a young Gal Alberman who was substituted out due to injury in the 39th minute but 9 minutes earlier, Maccabi took the lead via Eduardo Marques. However, Petach Tikva equalized in the 64th minute thanks to a screamer of a goal by Ismael Amar which sent the contest into extratime. Both teams looked like they were preparing for penalties, but Petach Tikva central defender Shalshi Banai had other plans as he headed in an own goal as the ball went over keeper Ohad Cohen giving Maccabi the valuable victory.