Maccabi are through the State Cup Quarter Finals after a 3-2 victory against Hapoel Haifa in a dramatic end to end match at Sammy Ofer. Tal Ben Chaim, Niso Kapiloto (og) and Nick Blackman scored the goals that booked Maccabi’s place in the draw for the final eight.
Pre Match
Hapoel Haifa separate between Maccabi and a place in the State Cup Quarter Finals as the Round of 16 tie saw Patrick van Leeuwen’s side return to Sammy Ofer a fortnight after both teams met in the league.
With a tight fixture schedule that will see Maccabi end the regular league season at Bloomfield when they host Hapoel Tel Aviv on Saturday, Van Leeuwen, made four changes from the saide that beat Kiryat Shmona at the weekend.
Eytan Tibi and Luis Hernandez both kept their place at the heart of defense right in front of goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum. Matan Baltaxa returned to the left side of defense in place of Ofir Davidzada who dropped to the bench while Maor Kandil completed the back-four on the right.
Sheran Yeini, Eyal Golasa and Dor Peretz resumed their roles as the midfield trio while the front three were changed completely. Tal Ben Chaim who completed his one-match touchline-ban returned to the side, as did Eylon Almog and Nick Blackman who both made substitute appearances at Kiryat Shmona. The English born Barbados international forward led the attack at the stadium and against the same opponent he scored the opening goal with his shoulder.
First Half
Five minutes from the start the hosts took the lead in controversial circumstances as Dor Malul handled the ball in the build up to Hanan Maman’s opener. Maccabi’s defense struggled to deal with Ido Shahar’s corner as the ball bobbled off Maman to beat Tenenbaum at the near post.
Two minutes later however, Maccabi were back on level terms as a Haifa defender blocked a header with his hand inside the area before referee Shlomi Ben Avraham awarded a penalty. Tal Ben Chaim stepped up and successfully converted the spot kick past Jasmin Boric.
The comeback was complete in the 13th minute as Ben Chaim turned provider by picking Eylon Almog with a pinpoint cross. The talented winger chested the ball down and sent a shot which Boric saved by the rebound came off Niso Kapiloto to make it 2-1.
Maccabi had the ball in Haifa’s net for the third time in the 20th minute as Almog forced another save from Boric before Eyal Golasa fired in the rebound. But Maccabi’s celebrations were shortlived as Nick Blackman was judged to have been in an offside position and the goal was disallowed. Two minutes later, Blackman capitalized on a mix up between Boric and his defense, but with the goal at his mercy struck the post from 25 meters out.
Ben Chaim had a chance to increase Maccabi’s lead even further as he was put through by a Golasa clever pass on 28, but Ben Wahaba slid-in with a last gasp block to save the danger.
Maccabi totally dominated the play and came even closer to score the third in the 37th minute as Sheran Yeini rattled Boric’s crossbar with left foot shot from the edge of of the area.
A Matan Baltaxa block from an Alon Turgeman shot resulted with a Dor Peretz counter attack that almost ended with a Golasa goal at the opposite end. Seconds later and on the brink of halftime, Tenenbaum pulled a spectacular fingertip save to deny Ruslan Barsky an equaliser.
Second Half
Haifa’s coach Haim Silvas made his first substitution as Yahav Gurfinkel made way for former Maccabi forward Eden Ben Basat after the break. Fourty seconds after the restart, Golasa should have scored Maccabi’s third as he found himself infront of Boric only to be denied by the Bosnian keeper.
Blackman flashed a left foot shot over the crossbar in the 53rd minute and a minute later headed a Luis Hernandez cross onto the roof of the net. Liran Serdal was given the time and space to blast a powerful drive that hit the side netting on 55.
Eylon Almog curled a left foot shot that crept over the crossbar on 67 as that was his final contribution on the night. A minute later, Van Leeuwen made a triple substitution as Ofir Davidzada, Avi Rikan and Matan Hozez replaced Almog, Baltaxa and Peretz.
Haifa cut the deficit in the 74rh minute as Alon Turgeman squeezed the ball home following a Kapiloto flick from a corner. Etey Shechter replaced the tired Ben Chaim for the final 13 minutes as Van Leeuwen introduced a fresh pair of legs.
Maman came close to level the score but failed to keep his shot down on in the 78th minute. A minute later though all three substitutes combined for what could have been Maccabi’s fourth. Hozez led a counter attack, squared the ball to Shechter who teed-up Rikan for a shot that went wide of he post.
Shechter should have taken the tie beyond Haifa’s reach in the 86th minute as he charged forward for a counter attack but opted to release a weak shot instead of passing to Blackman.
In the 90th minute Haifa were awarded a direct free kick on the edge of Maccabi’s area. Ben Basat blasted his shot on target but Tenenbaum pulled another stunning save to keep Maccabi’s lead in tact. Dan Biton replaced Blackman inside injury time but the game could have ended in dramatic fashion as Hapoel Haifa scored by the goal was dissalllowed for offside.
