The Derby victory against Hapoel Tel Aviv wasn’t just any Youth Premier League win for the coach and the players. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati and Captain Tomer Altman spoke about their feelings on taking home the important win.
“There’s no one happier than me to win a Derby. I thought about it when I was on my way to the match, that I’ve experienced the Derby as a fan, player, a player who won the State Cup Final Derby and as the coach of the Under-19 team. There were a lot of emotions and special energy and I’m happy that we were able to win the match. We can still play better than we did today and we should have killed the game and led 2:0. In the second half we stayed back a bit but we should have still been able to quietly finish off the match much earlier.”
Message to the players following the win:
“I brought the players together in a circle after the match right on the pitch so the fans and parents could see how much I appreciated their hard work and what they did on the pitch. You have to take into account that these are players who are just at the beginning of their careers and there is always pressure in a Derby, by the media and it’s not that simple. I only have compliments and winning 3:1 is really great.”
About Or Dasa playing with the first team:
“Or is a player who is part of the whole youth department. I was the coach who integrated him into the Under-19 side but it’s all of his coaches from when he was younger that deserve credit for doing a great job with him. This is something that the whole department and management can be proud of.”
Captain Tomer Altman also discussed the important win:
“It’s a wonderful feeling especially as to how the match began. Our start to the season wasn’t the best, so it was important to take home the Derby win.”
Looking ahead:
“I think that the good Derby result and the way we played will give us a big push going forward. We just want to continue to improve.”
About the Hapoel fans:
“We weren’t going to let them influence the game. It’s part of the match, the fans and crowd and soon enough the players will be on the first teams where it is also part of the match.”
