Avi Rikan, the Yellow & Blue midfielder looked back at his side’s 2:1 win over Beitar Jerusalem on Matchday 14 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Ha’Al which opened up the second round of matches:
“I played as a defensive back a few times this season due to injuries, but when I play in the midfield I have been able to score goals and I work hard there because it’s a position I’ve played my whole life. Sometimes it takes time to get back into a position but I was able to do it quickly.”
Playing against his former club:
“I played here for many years and I had some good times where I also scored goals. I’m happy where I am now, we took the three points and I’m happy for our fans.”
Good vibe:
“We brought a good vibe into the match after the win on Thursday and from a professional point of view we were good on the pitch and we controlled our space and gave the strikers chances. Our central defenders played well and we did the job. We gained confidence after the Toto Cup win and now we have to keep moving ahead.”
Stability:
“I think we were playing but we lost points. This past week gave us a lot of strength and confidence. We have good players here who can play quality football. I’ve talked a lot about how we need to some stability even after wins as that is the most important thing for us.”
What Maccabi needs to look like:
“You have to look at each match separately. There were games where we dominated play but couldn’t score and there were games that we didn’t play well enough and didn’t create chances and we weren’t aggressive enough. I hope that we will be able to see this Maccabi Tel Aviv going forward. Where we press, control the pace of the match and keep clean sheets. Over the last few contests we have given up fewer goals and that’s important. We have to take this match and play like this in the games ahead. This is what Maccabi should look like.”
Winning the battles:
“We have to take the good things and concentrate on the basics which is to fight and win our battles on the pitch because that’s what will continue to give us chances.”
