The Under-17 side defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 2:1 on Matchday 4 of the Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. The Yellow & Blue fell behind in the 2nd minute but made a quick comeback to take the lead by the 8th minute thanks to goals by Asaf Hershko and Nadav Nidam.
The match began as Maccabi gave up a quick goal in the 2nd minute however, Asaf Hershko found the back of goal just one minute later as he pounced on a ball in the middle of the box and beat the Reds keeper. Five minutes later the comeback was complete as Tal Yogadaev made his way down the left wing, sent the ball into the box to Nadav Nidam who slotted it home for the goal.
Both sides began to open the game up as Maccabi hit the post while a number of dangerous chances from Hapoel were cleared the the Yellow & Blue defense. Both clubs didn’t come up with many second half chances as Or Itzhak, the Maccabi keeper was able to take care of any threats from the Reds side as the hosts came away with the 2:1 win.
Head Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon commented about the match: “There are always a lot of emotions and a great atmosphere at Derby matches. The first half was much better than the second half. We gave up an early goal but were able to get back into the contest quickly and take the lead. This was thanks to the work we do in training like moving the back from side to side in an organized fashion and getting certain players involved.
I tried to make a number of substitutes in the second half to freshen up the game but the match just didn’t move on to a higher level. If we concentrated a bit more we could have scored more goals and perhaps even doubling our output. I’m going to take the win from this match and the players sacrifice and determination. You need to know how to win these types of games.”
Starting Lineup: Or Itzhak, Omer Itzhak, Roie Benbenisti, Dan Lugassi, Shachar Rosen, Asaf Hershko, Omri Ram, Nadav Nidam, Raava Assayag, Bar Cohen, Tal Yogadaev.
Substitutes used: Ido Shachar, Deal Ben Shalosh, Hadar Yosef, Guy Mizrachi, Rotem Yitzkar.
