Substitute Tal Ben Chaim scored the second half winner to give Maccabi Tel Aviv a 1:0 first leg State Cup Quarterfinal victory at the Moshava Stadium. In a match with very few chances by either side, it was number 11 who played hero in front of the traveling support of over 5,000 fans. The second leg will take place at the Netanya Stadium on Wednesday March 1st. The Yellow & Blue will now get ready to play Petach Tikva in league action this coming Monday night.

Sports Director Jordi Cruyff’s Starting XI for the first leg featured a few more changes from last match as midfielder Ruben Micael made his Yellow & Blue debut while striker Aaron Schoenfeld received his first start. Defender Yuval Shpungin and midfielder Eliel Peretz were also handed opening assignments as the rest of the lineup included Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic along with defenders Eitan Tibi, Tal Ben Haim and Omri Ben Harush. Sheran Yeini and Dor Micha also featured in the midfield while Barak Itzhaki played up front.

Available on the bench were Daniel Lifshitz, Eli Dasa, Ramon Roma, Oscar Scarione, Vidar Kjartansson, Tal Ben Chaim and Marcelo.

First Half
Petach Tikva came out of the starting block with a 2nd minute chance as Lidor Cohen lifted a ball from the right side to Roman Mihai but his header missed the mark early on. After a little more than a quarter hour of back and forth play, Uri Magbo had a chance from the left side of the box in the 19th minute, but he skied his effort over the bar.

Maccabi had their first opportunity of the contest in the 21st minute as Ruben Micael’s 30 meter free kick was headed by Schoenfeld, but his chance was caught by Dani Amos while three minutes later Carlos Cuellar returned the favor as Rajikovic caught his header at the other end of the pitch.

Ten minutes later, Yeini sent a beauty of a ball into the middle of the box to a waiting Micha, but number 15’s shot couldn’t find the goal. In the 41st minute, Micha came in from the right side but his sharp angled effort was collected by Amos as was Itzhaki’s chance in the 45th minute as the sides went into the break goalless.

Second Half
After 18 minutes of mostly midfield play by both teams, Magbo had a chance from 16 meters out but his low liner was punched away by Rajikovic while a minute later Shpungin ended a threat in front of the goal by sending the ball out of play.

In the 67th minute Shpungin sent Micael a gorgeous ball to the top of the area but the Portuguese midfielder’s effort went wide left of the Petach Tikva goal. Cruyff then made his first substitute of the evening as Micael came out for Oscar Scarione and in the 72nd minute Tal Ben Chaim was introduced for Itzhaki as Maccabi looked for some offense.

And that’s exactly what they got from the speedy winger five minutes after entering the match. Ben Chaim took a pass from Micha on the right flank, cut into the box from the right and curled a magnificent strike into the left side of the goal for a beauty of a strike to give Maccabi a 1:0 lead.

Marcelo then came on as the Yellow & Blue’s 3rd substitution of the night in place of Aaron Schoenfeld in the 82nd minute. With Maccabi looking for a 2nd goal, Marcelo picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch and sent Ben Chaim a long pass into the box. Number 11 got to the ball but the Petach Tikva keeper Amos pulled him down good for a penalty. However, Ben Chaim’s spot kick was saved by the diving keeper as the score remained as is until the referee blew the final whistle to give Maccabi the 1:0 first leg victory. The second leg will be played on March 1st at the Netanya Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Yellow & Blue will now prepare for a Matchday 22 encounter with the same Petach Tikva at the Moshava Stadium on Monday evening.