Preview
Maccabi travelled to Turner stadium for the league match against Hapoel Be’ersheva on the back of last week’s disappointing injury-time equaliser that ended all championship aspirations. Three days before both sides meet at Bloomfield stadium for the State Cup Semi Final, Maccabi that are three points behind Be’ersheva in the table have still plenty to play for. Mladen Krstajic made three changes from the side that was held to a 1-1 by Maccabi Haifa as suspensions and injuries forced the Serbian coach to shuffle his starting line-up.
Josue Sa kept his place alongside Enric Saborit as the two central defenders in-front of goalkeeper, Daniel Peretz, with Shahar Piven and Ofir Davidzada completing the back-four on the right and left respectively.
With Dan Glazer serving a one-match-touchline-ban, veteran skipper Sheran Yeini led the team with the captain’s armband at the anchor-man role. Having suffered a shoulder injury against Haifa last week, Gabi Kanichowsky, was left out of the squad in order to give him some time to recover. After celebrating his senior league debut with a goal against Haifa, Oscar Gloukh, lined-up alongside Yeini at the heart of midfield. Matan Hozez and Tal Ben Chaim were named as the two wide men in a four-man midfield with Djordje Jovanovic and Stipe Perica spearheading Maccabi’s attack.
Daniel Tenenbaum, Matan Baltaxa, Idan Nachmias, Brandley Kuwas, Eden Shamir, Avi Rikan, Eyal Golasa, Andre Geraldes and Eylon Almog were named on the substitutes bench waiting for a chance to make an impact.
First Half
In front of an almost packed Turner stadium, the hosts were the dominant side in the opening stages of the game putting pressure on Maccabi’s defence. Shahar Piven, starting at right-back was the first player to be booked by referee David Fuxman following a foul in the 11th minute on Be’ersheva’s Rotem Hatuel.
With Matan Hozez on the right and Tal Ben Chaim on the left Maccabi looked lively down the wings and tried supplying ammunition for Stipe Perica and Djordje Jovanovic upfront. In the 17th minute Hozez charged past Mariano Bariero who tugged his shirt and was consequently booked as well. In the 22nd minute, a long Piven ball over the top of Be’ersheva’s defence released Jovanovic but goalkeeper Omri Glazer charged out of his area and cleared the danger before the Serbian forward could have a shot on goal.
A minute later at the opposite end Be’ersheva charged for a counter attack that left Danilo Asprilla clear inside the area. But a last gasp Enric Saborit tackle denied the Colombian forward whose effort went high and wide. In the 26th minute however the hosts took the lead from a Helder Lopez cross that appeared to have deflected off Piven to beat Daniel Peretz at the far post.
In the 39th minute Peretz was at full stretch to push out a Roei Gordana dangerous drive before Piven cleared the rebound. Within a minute Peretz was at it again as his good positioning on his goal-line helped him catch Asprilla’s close range header.
Fuxman’s halftime whistle sent both teams into the dressing room, but for Mladen Krstajic the interval couldn’t have come any faster as it was clear that Maccabi’s Serbian coach will need to make some changes.
Second Half
Krstajic made no less than three changes at the restart as Avi Rikan replaced Piven, Matan Baltaxa came in for Ofir Davidzada while Eden Shamir replaced Sheran Yeini. The changes in personnel were not the only ones Krstajic made as he reverted to a 3-5-2 formation with Baltaxa joining Saborit and Josue Sa at the back while Hozez and Ben Chaim switched to wing-back roles on the left and right respectively.
Good work by Hozez down the flank in the 55th minute gifted Perica the ball on the edge of the area only for the Croatian striker to waste the chance as he shot over. Perica was booked for a foul on Gordana in the 59th minute as that was his final contribution before being replaced moments later by Brandley Kuwas.
In the 71st minute Idan Nachmias replaced Sa who limped off with an injury as Krstajic made his fifth and final change. Jovanovic snapped a shot in the 78th minute which was caught by Glazer while Rikan sent a powerful effort from the corner of the area that shaved the crossbar and landed on the roof of the net two minutes later.
In the 85th minute Oscar Gloukh released Hozez into the penalty area before the winger’s shot was blocked by Glazer. After the fourth official signalled four minutes of added time Maccabi were awarded two corners as Peretz even came up for one of them only to head over the bar as it was clearly not Maccabi’s night.
The defeat, the 6th of the season and first since January, kept them on 56 points from 30 matches – six behind Be’ersheva and 13 from the top.
