Yonatan Cohen experienced a dramatic night at Bloomfield stadium as he had a goal disallowed before scoring an injury-time winner on the way to a 1-0 victory over Beitar Jerusalem. The 27-yer-old who faced the media after the match started his press conference with a mention to two of teammates. “I would first like to wish a speedy recovery to Nir Bitton who suffered a knee injury. We are all hoping for the best, but even if the injury is bad then we are all behind him and support him. I would also like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Gabi Kanichowsky who lost two close friends that died in action as part of their reserve duty in the IDF. We are all so sorry for his loss and would like to dedicate this victory to him”.
Cohen, who scored his first league goal of the campaign and fifth in all competitions, spoke about the time he spent on the sidelines: “It was obviously sitting in my head as you al know me as someone with great passion to play all the time and play my part. The recent spell wasn’t easy for me, but I never let my head drop for one second. I woke up every morning, had a look in the mirror and knew that I am giving it all. When the team is having a good run without you the there are not too many choices besides being ready for your chance. I am just happy that today I came on for a more minutes than usual, gave my share and helped the team win. What makes me even happier is the ability to make all those fans who turn up here to support us and those watching us on TV. This is a privilege for us to be able to do that and I am very happy for it.”
On the tough competition for places Cohen is forced to deal with, he added: “When you are at Maccabi the hard work is a daily routine. You can’t afford to remove the foot off the pedal for one second. You must maintain the highest level possible and that is the standard here – to be the best and the most successful. Sometimes you take the chance and play, but the following match if you are not up to speed you could find yourself out of the team or out of the rotation. There are demands and we need to deliver all the time. This is what I had done during my first tenure at Maccabi, but after returning from Italy, I didn’t maintain that stability so now I hope to be able to show what I can do.”
