Second half goals by Dor Peretz, Omer Atzili and Andre Geraldes at Kiryat Shalom on Sunday secured a perfect record for Maccabi Tel Aviv in their season restart preparations as they look forward to the resumption of the TASE Premier League at the weekend.
The 3-0 win over Second Division outfit Beitar Tel Aviv/Bat Yam followed wins over Hapoel Ra’anana and Ashdod SC, both by a 3-1 margin, and appears to bode well for a successful restart on Saturday.
After several chances went begging for both sides in the first half, four changes by Vladimir Ivic at the start of the second period effected the change that the Serbian coach was looking for. Dor Peretz was first on the score sheet as he rose high to head home in the 54th minute after Matan Hozez crossed in a free kick in from the left.
Three minutes passed and Maccabi doubled the score after Ruslan Barsky sent a telling pass that cut through the Beitar defence that found Atzili who was on hand to slot home from close range.
Geraldes sealed the result in the 71st minute after exchanging passes with Atzili and Eyal Golasa. The Portuguese right-back pounced on Golasa’s rebounding shot and rifled the ball high into the back of the Beitar net.
The score might have been higher thanks to several attempts by a number of Maccabi players, including a late shot by Itay Shechter, who hit the crossbar.
Maccabi’s first match in the playoff phase of the Premier League will be against Hapoel Haifa at home on May 30, kickoff at 20:00. With all 26 matches in the first two phases of the league completed, Maccabi lead the table with 64 points, six ahead of second-placed Maccabi Haifa, who appear to be their only realistic challengers for the title. Beitar Jerusalem are third in the standings on 49 points.
Maccabi Tel Aviv: Andreas Gianniotis, (Omer Katz, 46), Maor Kandil, (Andre Geraldes, 46), Eitan Tibi, (Jair Amador, 46), Shahar Piven, (Sheran Yeini, 61), Enric Saborit, (Ofir Davidzada, 61), Dor Peretz (Dor Micha, 61), Ruslan Barsky (Avi Rikan, 61), Eyal Golasa (Parfait Guiagon, 73), Matan Hozez (Yonatan Cohen, 61), Eylon Almog (Omer Atzili, 46), Nick Blackman, (Itay Shechter, 61).
Beitar TA/Bat Yam: Daniel Peretz Muflah Shalata, Amit Glazer, Fadi Najjar, Eyal Chen, Tamir Glazer, Ido Shahar, Bar Cohen, Amir Berkovitz, Yahab al-Abid, Eduardo Guerero.
