For the 14th time: Maccabi ‘Shahar’ wins Youth Cup

Maccabi Tel Aviv ‘Shahar’ set a new Israeli record by winning the Youth Cup for the 14th time after beating Maccabi Petah Tikva 3-0 in Tuesday’s Youth Cup Final which was played at Netanya. Bar Lin (33,36) scored twice in the space of three first half minutes and Oscar Gloukh (79) who came off the bench sealed the victory for Peter van Den Berg’s side.

Maccabi ‘Shahar’ arrived at the Netanya stadium on the back of two successive defeats to Hapoel Be’ersheva and Bnei Sakhnin that saw them concede pole position in the table to Ashdod – the team they knocked out in the Semi Final.
Petah Tikva came close to score in the opening minute but Shalev Daniel’s shot shaved the crossbar. Bar Lin set up Orel Baye in the 13^th minute but the winger’s shot was caught by Petah Tikva’s keeper Maor Erlich. Four minutes later, Baye’s cut-back reached Lin in a dangerous position only for his shot to be blocked for a corner. Maccabi continued to look the dangerous side as Carlos Rivera’s through ball to Lin on 29 resulted with another save by Erlich in Petah Tikva’s goal.
Three minutes after the half hour mark, Erlich could do nothing to prevent Maccabi from taking the lead. Roei Nawai headed the ball towards Lin who cut inside from the right flank before unleashing a powerful shot that deflected off a Petah Tikva defender to loop over the keeper and put Maccabi in front.
Petah Tikva tried to level the score and sent players forward for a set piece but were caught on the counter attack. Baye charged forward and spotted Lin unmarked before the midfielder kept his calm and slotted in his and Maccabi’s second on 36.

The second period was dominated by Petah Tikva’s attempts to cut the deficit and claw their way back into the game, while Maccabi tried increasing their lead. Rivera came close in the 66^th minute but forced a save from Erlich before Tomer Alon denied Ariel Lugasi at the opposite end two minutes later.

Twenty four hours after playing 78 minutes at Bloomfield in the first team’s 5-0 derby victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv, Oscar Gloukh was given a chance to re-join his fellow young teammates as he replaced Ori Halevi in the 72^nd minute. Four minutes after his introduction, Gloukh exchanged passes with Linonly for a Petah Tikva defender to block the shot and deny the midfielder a hat trick. In the 78^th minute however, Maccabi took the tie beyond Petah Tikva’s reach after Rivera and Baye had their initial efforts blocked as Gloukh pounced on the rebound and blasted in the third.

With Maccabi’s owner’s representative Jack Angelides watching from the stands alongside the club’s management and the entire first team coaching staff, the U-19’s lifted the Avi Ran Youth Cup. Having won the Cup for the first time since the 2010/11 season, Maccabi ‘Shahar’ could now return to focus their efforts on the league in an attempt to emulate the achievement of that season by winning the double.

Maccabi Tel Aviv: Tomer Alon, Ilay Tomer (Ari Merenstein 85), , Shon Edri, Adir Cordoba, Roy Revivo, Roei Nawi, Yonatan Paz (Anar Ushmandi 66), Bar Lin (Mohamad Abu Ayash 85), Ori Halevi (Oscar Gloukh 72), Orel Baye, Carlos Rivera (Ido Mizrahi 85).