Maccabi “Shachar” defeats Haifa 1:0

Prematch
Following two straight wins, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv visited Maccabi “Shmuel” Haifa in a tough away encounter on Matchday 25 of the Youth Ligat Ha’Al. Dor Galili was back in Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI in place of Neil Goldberg for the only change in the side that defeated Hapoel Haifa 2:1 on Sunday. Haifa on the other hand was looking to win the league tittle with only 4 Matchdays remaining in the season.

First Half
The match began as the sides played tentative football with the first chance coming in the 15th minute for Haifa as Omer Kats made the save.

The Yellow & Blue took their first opportunity of the contest in the 25th minute when Tomer Altman’s chance went off of the outside of the goal to keep the match goalless. Five minutes later, Amit Shapira led a counter attack and gave the ball to Altman but his 18 meter scorcher went off of the bar as the half ended 0:0.

Second Half
Haifa had a chance to take the lead 15 minutes into half number two when Amit Zaneti came very close to scoring but Fadi Najar cleared the ball off of the line while six minutes later Eylon Almog’s effort was stopped by the Green’s keeper.

In the 69th minute, Almog had yet another chance thanks to an Altman pass but his shot was off the mark. However, Maccabi’s hard work paid off in the 76th minute when Ron Zamir teamed up with Guy Shetah whose sharp angled chance found the back of the goal for a 1:0 lead. A minute after the goal, Haifa was down to ten men as Zaneti was sent off for an off the ball foul on Eden Kartzev as Maccabi wrapped up their 6th win in 7 matches, denying the Greens the opportunity to be crowned champions.