Ofir Davidzada set up the first goal for Dor Turgeman as Maccabi came back from a goal behind to beat Hapoel Jersualem 2-1 at Bloomfield. At the end of the match the experienced left-back summed up the match: “It wasn’t easy tonight as we played against a very good Hapoel Jerusalem team that has a very good coach in Ziv Ariye. They are causing t5he entire league problems and are always tough to play against.”
Davidzada, who recently made his 200th appearance in all competitions for Maccabi since joining in 2017, added: “I am 32 this season which isn’t old in terms of age, but I have matured in terms of character. Several key players left us, and I felt it was my time to grab their place and assume leadership. We have many young talented players as my role is to help them by giving them tools which would serve them in the future. This is something which would benefit Maccabi as a club but also very important for us ion order to achieve our targets as we are all in this together.”
Davidzada, who was used by Robbie Keane as a makeshift central defender, said of his versatility: “Regardless of where you place me, I will give everything for the team. I strongly believe in my ability which is something I have been working on mentally. I am just glad the coach has faith in me and I could repay him on the pitch.”
On the hectic fixture list which saw Maccabi play a match every three weeks over a period of 45 days, Davidzada summed up: “It was a very challenging spell, but one has to give credit to our coach and coaching staff, as well as our fitness coach (Yossi Zigdon) for preparing us to play every game. I think we looked like we were in good shape, and we were not so tired. This was a challenging period but as players we want to play as many games as possible. The circumstance which led to that are extremely sad, and from here we would like to say that we wish all the hostages return home as we are waiting for them. We also wish all the soldiers return home safe and sound, for all this to be over soon. I am just happy we managed to survive this period and we are looking at our future targets.”
