Gal Alberman, the veteran Maccabi defensive midfielder talked about the match that was against Hapoel Beer Sheva on Matchday 21 of the Ligat Ha’Al at the Netanya Stadium. Number 6 discussed the importance of the fans, the changed atmosphere and the match itself:
“We knew what the table situation was prior to the match and we were aware that anything else other than a victory wouldn’t be good enough. After losing a number of points throughout the season, it didn’t leave us much choice for any other result. So we had to make sure we defeated our main rival which is Hapoel Beer Sheva. We took into account that anything other than a win wouldn’t help us.”
Not looking to far ahead:
“On one hand we’re happy because we needed the win on the other we still have to remember what situation we are in and be realistic as to where we are. We would have liked to be closer to Beer Sheva or even ahead of them at this point of the campaign and we still have a large gap to close, so there’s no time to celebrate. We have to be focussed and not make the same mistakes that we made earlier on. We looked at a number of matches and said we should win 3-4 in a row but then we fouled up in the next game. We can’t look to far ahead and we must take each and every match as the most important one of the season and hopefully this will take us to a better place going forward.”
No room to err:
“Over the last few matches there has been a much better atmosphere and that is always thanks to the fans who have cheered us on. After a period of time where we weren’t that good, we pulled ourselves together and understood that we had to change things up to be where we should be and we did just that. We made that switch and as players we’re battling harder and improved where we needed to. We are looking ahead and we have many crucial games coming up. We don’t have any room to err.”
The fans:
“The fans put on a great show throughout the contest. The fans have been with is during the rough patches as well as the good times. Like I’ve said before, the fans are an integral part of all of us and we’re happy that they stood by us today. But we need them for each and every match as we want to be in the championship fight for the balance of the campaign, especially since we are also playing in a Stadium that is not our “real” home. But it will feel more like home when the fans keep cheering us on and are coming to support us.”
