Pre Match
Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived at the Petah Tikva stadium ranked in fourth spot with 22 points, one point behind Hapoel Tel Aviv and ahead of fifth place Bnei Sakhnin on goal difference.
For the match against the bottom of the table Petah Tikva side, Maccabi’s coach Mladen Krstajic made several changes to the team that was held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Sakhnin at Bloomfield. Enric Saborit who recovered from the illness which kept him out last week, returned to the side and joined Matan Baltaxa and Idan Nachmias as the third central defender in front of Daniel Peretz. Andre Geraldes and Ofir Davidzada were named as the two wing-back on the right and left respectively to complete the defensive line. Eden Shamir and Gabi Kanichowsky were assigned to the midfield engine room, with Eylon Almog and Matan Hozez on the wings. With Osama Khalaila serving a one-match touchline ban, and Stipe Perica waiting for his chance on the bench, Eduardo Guerrero was handed a rare start upfront.
First Half
Maccabi started the match with purpose and intensity as Mladen Krstajic’s side put the hosts on the back foot from the off. In the opening minute Eduardo Guerrero won a corner which Petah Tikva’s defence managed to clear but in less than two minutes on the clock Maccabi took the lead. Eylon Almog carved Petah Tikva’s defence open with a perfect through ball into the path of Matan Hozez who timed his run well before sliding the ball under Arik Yanko.
Petah Tikva must have thought they weathered the early storm and before they even managed to settle, Guy Luzon’s bottom of the table side found themselves trailing by 2-0 four minutes later. With Maccabi’s fans still celebrating the opening goal, Almog’s attempt of a volley from the edge of the area bobbled on the ground before Eden Shamir got a touch and sent the ball beyond the reach of Yanko.
Three minutes later Almog came close to get his name amongst the scorers as his shot struck the side netting. Maccabi kept dominating and Guerrero tried his luck with a shot but the Panamanian forward narrowly missed the target in the 18th minute. Almog slid the ball to Hozez who broke into the Petah Tikva penalty area on 24 before his shot was deflected out for a corner.
Luzon reacted almost instantly as he replaced Tomer Levy with Amit Meir who didn’t take long before getting booked together with Guerrero as tempers seemed to flair. Maccabi’s defence was put under pressure as a Yinon Eliyahu through ball released Arad Bar into the area in the 36th minute, but Enric Saborit cleared the danger with a well-timed tackle.
Petah Tikva got back in the game in the 41st minute through James Adeniyi who reacted first to head-in a rebound after Daniel Peretz managed to save Lameck Banda’s shot onto the crossbar. With Maccabi’s lead reduced to one goal, Snir Levy’s halftime whistle sent both teams into the dressing rooms to warm up and charge their batteries ahead of the second half.
Second Half
Maccabi emerged from the interval determined to increase their lead as an Almog and Guerrero counter attack in the 50th minute didn’t result with a shot on goal. Five minutes later Idan Nachmias rose high to meet Gabi Kanichowsky’s corner but the tall defender guided his header to the wrong side of the post.
Two minutes after the hour mark Hozez had his initial shot blocked by a defender and as the ball reached Shamir he sent a fierce volley that narrowly missed Yanko’s goal.
Mladen Krstajic made his first changes in the 65th minute as Hozez and Almog were both replaced by Brandley Kuwas and Stipe Perica. Guerrero who carried a booking from the first half and worked tirelessly during his 71 minutes on the pitch, made way for Dan Glazer as Krstajic made his third substitution.
Eyal Golasa replaced the tired Kanichowsky in the 88th minute as Krstajic added a fresh pair of legs for the closing stages. Despite the referee indicating five minutes of added time, Glazer fired a shot over the crossbar as Maccabi came close to increase their lead. But the final whistle saw the score sealed at 2-1 with Maccabi collecting three points.
