Avi Rikan, the Yellow & Blue midfielder/defender looked back at his side’s Toto Cup quarterfinal win over Bnei Yehuda while also scoring one of the goals of the season:
“It was a nice goal and it will give me and my teammates more confidence. It was a good result after a difficult week. We played well with ten men in the second half but we still have plenty of work to do.”
Going back to the basics:
“After the match in Astana we wanted to return home and play well against Beer Sheva but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. We have to work hard and go back the basics.”
Good times and the not so good times:
“In most cases we are the favorites but we have to remember that we must be more aggressive at times. Every football club has good times and bad times during a season and right now are going through a period of time that is not our best. We’ve had some injuries but we have to make sure that we play hard.”
Players know how to play:
“We played better against Bnei Yehuda and it’s not like we didn’t want to play well the last couple of games. The players know how to play we have to do more and show that over the course of the season.”
Staying together:
“We are all working together from the players to the professional staff to get back on track and we all are part of what happened the past week and we will all be part of the success going forward.”
Youth reinforcements:
“Or Dasa was great today and he brought a lot of energy to the match. He along with other youth players can help us when we don’t have a full squad and when there are injuries. Dasa was great today and I hope that they’ll help us going forward.”
About the upcoming match against Hapoel Acre:
“A team like Maccabi Tel Aviv hopes to win every match. Acre has a new coach and they will try to take some points. We have to be patient and control the pace of the match. We didn’t play our best the last two matches and we are preparing for a tough game ahead to take the 3 points.”
The fans:
“They have always been with us and I’m sure that they will support us now and in the future. I hope that everyone will leave happy.”
