hortly after scoring his 17th league goal with a late injury time strike on the way to a 2-0 victory away to Hapoel Jerusalem, Eran Zahavi said: “We scored our first goal very early in the first half, and it took us a while to get the second but Hapoel Jerusalem stood and defended very well”.
Zahavi, who was denied several times in the second half by Jerusalem’s keeper before scoring deep inside injury time, added: “We created plenty of chances and I don’t remember them creating any at all as the most important thing is to take the three points and return home. We had an overall good game, especially in the first half. In the second half we felt a little comfortable but at the same time we didn’t let them reach a single dangerous chance. In the end you can’t just dance on the pitch all the time, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. The most important thing is to collect the three points and I am very happy.”
When asked about his belief in still competing in the title race, Zahavi, who is aware his side are 10 points behind the leaders, insisted: “It is no longer in our hands, but what is in our hands is to do our best in every game, until the end of the season. I really believe in this team, and we need to look at things on a game by game basis. We are to blame that it is no longer in our hands, but we must do our best certainly on Tuesday when we play at Bloomfield for our honor and pride. Such matches are fun to play in, also because of our fans and I expect them to raise Bloomfield in the air. We will try do our best on the pitch.”
“Everyone wearing the shirt of Maccabi Tel Aviv must be committed in every training session and every match and give a 100%” Zahavi added, “No one guarantees a championship and titles every season, there are better seasons and worse ones. But in the end, Maccabi’s players must be the best they possibly can from the first to the last second of the season. We still have the Cup to play for and we will keep on fighting in the league until the end.”
