Preview
Boosted by last week’s victory away to Be’ersheva which helped narrow the gap from second place to two points, Maccabi arrived at Bloomfield stadium for the MD31 league encounter against Ashdod SC. Aitor Karanka’s side which are unbeaten in the Playoffs and has 62 points, would aim to end the first round with a victory which will see them leapfrog Be’ersheva that play on Sunday.
Ashdod, currently 5th with 39 points held Maccabi to a 0-0 draw earlier this season before suffering a 3-0 defeat in the corresponding fixture which was Karnaka’s first match in charge.
Enric Saborit who sat out a one-match touchline-ban against Be’ersheva, returned to the side at the expense of Nir Bitton to partner Derrick Luckassen as the second central defender. Andre Geraldes on the right and Ofir Davidzada on the left, completed Maccabi’s defensive line in-front of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz which other than Saborit, remained unchanged. Karanka also made changes in midfield as Dan Glazer kept his place as the anchor-man alongside Gabi Kanichowsky with Dan Biton and Parfait Guiagon supplying the width on the right and left respectively. Upfront, Karnaka stuck with his striking duo Eran Zahavi (18) and Djordje Jovanovic (15) who between them scored 33 league goals.
Alongside goalkeeper, Daniel Tenenbaum, Karanka named Rares Ilie, Joris van Overeem, Sheran Yeini, Eyal Golasa, Eylon Almog, Dor Turgeman, Dor Peretz and Nir Bitton.
Prior to kick-off, Enric Saborit who made his 200th appearance in all competitions against Maccabi Haifa, was presented with a shirt marking the occasion.
First Half
Maccabi dominated the opening period attacking Ashdod from the right with Andre Geraldes and Dan Biton and left through Ofir Davidzada Parfait Guiagon. In the opening 10 minutes a Guiagon clever through ball release Davidzada whose cut back was wasted by Biton. Gabi Kanichowsky didn’t get enough power on his shot while Eran Zahavi had his effort blocked by Tom Ben Zaken. In the 13th minute, Guiagon picked the ball near the halfway line and charged forward before the Ivorian’s shot from 25 meters out shaved the top of Yoav Gerafi’s crossbar.
Biton tried testing Gerafi in the 16th minute with a left foot shot which was equalled by Ashdod’s keeper. Ben Zaken was the first player to be booked by referee Nael Oudah in the 19th minute for a foul on Guiagon. Derrick Luckassen was also shown the yellow card on 23 for stopping a counter attack by tugging an Ashdod opponent by the shirt.
Guiagon tried again on 26 but his shot from the edge of the area sailed high over the goal.
Dan Glazer was also booked on 33 for a mistimed tackle near the centre circle a fact which would side-line him from the match against Hapoel Jerusalem. Three minutes later Enric Saborit picked Djordje Jovanovic with a clever through ball which was chested down by the Serbian forward before Timothy Awani appeared to have handled it in the area with no reaction from the referee.
As the first half reached its’ closing stages, Biton and Geraldes combined well down the right before the cut-back of the Portuguese defender reached Zahavi who once again had his effort blocked.
Second Half
In the wake of Glazer’s booking, Karanka, replaced him Dor Peretz at the restart as the midfielder who ended a goal drought against Be’ersheva which lasted since September, joined for the second half.
Ashdod’s coach Ran Ben Shimon made a change of his own as Zohar Zasno came on for Jordan Seban switching to five at the back. A minute after the restart, Maccabi came close as Jovanovic rose high to meet a Biton corner but couldn’t keep his header on target. Three minutes later Jovanovic, Zahavi and Guiagon exchanged passes on the edge of the area before Kanichowsky forced Gerafi to stretch himself and keep out the midfielder’s low powerful drive.
Bloomfield erupted a minute before the hour mark as Zahavi blasted home past Gerafi after he was put through by Biton. But VAR checked the incident and the goal was cancelled after Zahavi was judged to have been in an offside position.
Zahavi should put Maccabi in-front on 67 as Biton’s square ball left him with the goal at his mercy. But somehow the veteran marksman managed to hook the ball over the bar when it seemed easier to score. This was Biton’s final contribution on the night as Karanka made a double substitution introducing Rares Ilie and Eyal Golasa. In the 70th minute however Ashdod were awarded a penalty after Luckassen handled Zasno’s cross inside the area. Elton Acolatse blasted the spot kick past Daniel Peretz to give the visitors the lead against the run of play and their first effort on target.
Dor Peretz sent a powerful shot in the 77th minute which Gerafi pushed for a corner. Seconds later Guiagon’s trickery saw the Ivorian skip past Awany and tee-up Zahavi whose close range effort rattled the crossbar allowing Gerafi to catch the ball. Maccabi’s blitz finally paid off in the 79th minute as Golasa floated a cross into the area and Zahavi headed in the equalizer to lift the majority of the 15,965 fans off their seats.
With Maccabi trying desperately to take the lead it was Ashdod who came close on 83 as Elad Shahaf ended a counter attack with a close range effort which narrowly missed the top corner.
The fourth official gave Maccabi a lifeline as he indicated nine minutes of added time while Karanka sent in Dor Turgeman for Kanichowsky. Four minutes into the addition Maccabi were awarded a direct free kick on the edge of the area after an Ashdod defender handled the ball. Zahavi stepped up but saw his attempt of a shot blocked by one of Ashdod’s players who stood in the wall as it clearly wasn’t Maccabi’s night. While Maccabi remain unbeaten in the Playoffs, Karanka’s side will begin the second round on Saturday with a tough trip to Maccabi Netanya on Saturday.
