Four days after the State Cup Semi Final exit at Sammy Ofer, and on the eve of Maccabi’s return to the same venue for the league encounter against the leaders, Maccabi’s midfielder, Dor Peretz, shared the feeling in the camp: “We wanted to be a different place we are now yet suffered a major, but this is part of the game. We have no choice but to move on especially as we have such a prestigious match ahead of us – so we need to bounce back and recover fast”.
Maccabi are currently ranked third with 67 points, four adrift of Hapoel Be’ersheva that cut their gap from leaders Maccabi Haifa to four points after last week’s injury time victory over Maccabi Haifa. But the incidents that followed after the final whistle which will be settled by the IFA Disciplinary court later this week, could result with the deduction of points and a change to the table. When asked about a potential return to the title race, Peretz said: “I expect us to arrive on Monday and give everything we can in-order to win this match without looking at Maccabi Haifa, Be’ersheva or the battle between them. We must look at ourselves, it is a very prestigious and important match for us. If we will do our share then we will be satisfied.”
The midfielder who will celebrate his 28th birthday next week and won a host of trophies at the club, tried reflecting on the disappointing season: “This is something I refuse to accept. For now there is nothing one can do besides collect all the experiences we had this season and take them as part of our learning and development. Expectations is something which exists here every season in accordance with the budget, the squad and the coaching staff. As soon as we all as a collective don’t meet the targets we set for us it is regarded as a disappointment.”
In view of the future, Peretz summed up: “Where will this season head? If we take all the experiences we had from this season and channel them towards a development we will progress to the best place we could as a club.”
