A brace by Nosa Igiebor and a goal by Portuguese striker Orlando Sa was enough to give the Yellow & Blue a 3:0 win in the first leg of the first round of the Europa League qualifying tournament.

New Head Coach Shota Arveladze named his first starting XI in his first official match as the Yellow & Blue boss which included Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic in goal with a defensive quartet of Omri Ben Harush, Carlos Garcia, Eitan Tibi and Dor Peretz playing in front of him. Gal Alberman sported the captain’s armband while Nosa Igiebor and Haris Medunjanin manned the midfield as winger Tal Ben Chaim, Dor Micha and Orlando Sa provided the attack up front.

First Half

After almost an opening quarter hour of tentative play from both sides, Nosa Igiebor broke the ice with a gorgeous 13th minute goal from the top of the box. The Nigerian midfielder came in from the left side and lifted the ball into the top of the goal cleanly beating Gorica keeper Grega Sorcan good for a 1:0 Maccabi lead.

Orlando Sa tried to double the score but his header from a Medunjanin free kick missed the target in the 30th minute. Dor Peretz’s 27 minute effort was blocked by the Gorica defense and was sent out for a corner while Ben Harush’s wild shot went way over the goal in minute 31.

Medunjanin looked to team up with Sa once again in the 34th minute but his fantastic cross was just a little bit too long for the Portuguese striker. Micha tried his luck with a terrific run down the right side of the pitch but his low shot just went wide of the goal 5 minutes later.

Finally the pair of Sa and Medunjanin hit the jackpot as number 70 found the back of the goal giving Maccabi a 2:0 advantage right before the break.

Second Half

Sa had the first chance of the second half as he stole the ball in the 58th minute, but Gorica made sure his effort wouldn’t find the back of the goal while his opportunity 3 minutes later was also stymied by the visitors stingy defense.

However, it was Nosa Igiebor who found the back of the Gorica goal for the second time in the match as the Nigerian picked up a loose ball in the box and slammed it home for a 3:0 lead in the 69th minute.

Coach Arveladze made a number of substitutions as the match continued on as Barak Itzhaki, Eden Ben Basat and Avi Rikan all came in over the course of the last 20 minutes of the contest.

With a 3:0 advantage, Maccabi will look to advance to the second round of the Europa League next week when they visit Gorica in Slovenia on Thursday night for the 2nd leg of the two legged tie.

Maccabi Tel Aviv hosted Hungarian side Paksi FC at their Austria training camp for their second and final preseason exhibition match prior to beginning the 2016/17 campaign next Thursday against Gorica in Europa League first round qualifying.

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The Yellow & Blue’s Georgian Head Coach Shota Arveladze started Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic in goal with Omri Ben Harush, Carlos Garcia, Eitan Tibi and Dor Peretz in front of him. Eliel Peretz, Nosa Igiebor and acting captain Gal Alberman played in the midfield while Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim and Orlando Sa were up front.

First Half

After a quiet opening quarter hour an Orlando Sa right footed blast from the top of the box found its way into the Paksi goal beating the keeper to the left side good for a 1:0 Maccabi lead. Youngster Eliel Peretz picked off the ball in the midfield and fed Sa with the nice pass allowing the Portuguese striker a chance to continue his fine preseason form.

Paksi looked to even up the match with a 23rd minute free kick that was blocked by the Yellow & Blue good for a corner kick which in turn resulted for a quality chance by Zalei Andras but his effort defected off of the bar and out to keep the slim Maccabi lead intact.

Ben Harush lofted a 43rd minute free kick from the right side into the penalty area where Sa’s header was easily grabbed by Peter Molnar the Paksi keeper as the sides headed into the break with Maccabi maintaining a 1:0 advantage.

Second Half

Coach Arveladze made a pair of substitutions to open the second half as central defender Tal Ben Haim replaced Garcia and Barak Itzhaki came on for Eliel Peretz as Maccabi looked to open up the offense a bit. However, it was Paksi with the half’s first chance when Zsolt Balazs opportunity went off the post in the 51st minute.

With Maccabi in search of an insurance marker, Itzhaki’s 60th minute free kick curled over the goal to keep the score as is, while at the other end of the pitch Haviv Ohayon was introduced for Rajikovic. A couple of minutes later, Arveladze emptied his bench with Yossi Benayoun, Eden Ben Basat, Shlomi Azulay, Haris Medunjanin and Avi Rikan all coming into the match.

New keeper Ohayon was called into action in the 65th minute as the 17-year old shot stopper did exactly that on a short angle chance to keep Maccabi in the lead. Ten minutes later Ben Basat had a chance from 15 meters but his shot went wide left of the goal.

Dan Glazer came on for Eitan Tibi in the 81st minute as coach Arveladze continued to see some of his squad in match conditions as the match ended 1:0 in favor of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Haifa found the back of the goal in the first half to take home the State Cup title as Hen Ezra scored the lone marker of the contest.

Head Coach Peter Bosz made only one change in his Starting XI from Saturday night’s 6:0 league victory is really the same Haifa team as Haris Medunjanin replaced Eliel Peretz in the midfield. Medunjanin was joined by Gal Alberman and Nosa Igiebor while a defensive quartet of Eli Dasa, Eitan Tibi, Carlos Garcia and Avi Rikan played just behind them. Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim and Captain Eran Zahavi provided the offense up front while Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic took his usual place in goal.

The match opened up as a pretty physical affair for the first 20 minutes as each side collected foils aplenty with only one chance which occurred in the 10th minute as Eyal Meshumar almost scored an own goal. In the 22nd minute Ben Chaim took a wonderful ball on the left side of the box but his effort went wide right of the goal.

Just a minute later, Shoval Gozlan received a deep ball that beat the Maccabi defense but his opportunity went over Rajikovic’s goal as the action began heating up in both sides of the pitch. Tens minutes later, Zahavi had his first chance of the evening but his attempt went over the goal after the whole team got in on the act. Ben Chaim began the play, sent the ball to Micha who handed it off to Rikan and then to the Captain who put it over the bar.

However, the Greens got onto the board first as Hen Ezra put home a Ludovic Obraniak free kick to give Haifa a 1:0 lead. Micha gave Zahavi a chance to even it up in the 40th minute but his unbelievable header effort was saved midair on the line by Haifa keep Vladimir Stoykovich to keep his clean sheet intact as the sides headed into the break with Haifa clinging onto a one goal lead.

Maccabi had fantastic chance to begin the second half as Zahavi sent a ball through the Haifa box but found no one home to take advantage. Medunjanin had his scorcher stopped by Stoykovich in the 48th minute as the Yellow & Blue threw everything they had at the Greens trying to find the equalizer in the early going of half number two.

Igiebor had a brilliant opportunity to score in the 57th minute but couldn’t handle Rikan’s pinpoint pass as his effort went out. With Maccabi maintaining possession it was Ezra of Haifa in the 70th minute who had a chance to double his side’s score but his screamer went wide right of the goal.

A minute later Peter Bosz made him first substitute of the match inserting Eliel Peretz in favor of Alberman. Ben Chaim’s 75th minute curler couldn’t find the back of the goal as the Maccabi faithful continued cheering their heroes on while Bosz made his second substitute introducing Barak Itzhaki for Igiebor.

With seven minutes until full time, Maccabi made their third and final substitute of the match brining in Eden Ben Basat for Garcia. However, it wouldn’t be enough on this night as Haifa wrapped up the 1:0 win and took home the Israel State Cup.

Maccabi Tel Aviv hosted Beitar Jerusalem on Matchday 30 of the WINNER League Championship Playoffs with an opportunity to leap frog over Hapoel Beer Sheva and claim first place

Eran Zahavi proved to the football world yet again why he is the biggest winner in Israeli football today as the Captain shattered the single season goal scoring record with a brace and propelled Maccabi into first place ahead of Hapoel Beer Sheva. Micha scored the first goal of the match while Nikita Rukavytsya scored a brace for Beitar Jerusalem as the Yellow-and-Blue.

Head Coach Peter Bosz started keeper Predrag Rajikovic in goal as usual with a defensive quartet of Eli Dasa, Eitan Tibi, Carlos Garcia and Yuval Shpungin who was playing in place of the injured Omri Ben Harush in front of the young Serbian shot stopper. Wily veteran Gal Alberman along with Haris Medunjanin manned the midfield while Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim, Orlando Sa and Captain Eran Zahavi provided the attack up front.

It didn’t take long for Maccabi to make a mark on the match as they quickly took a 1:0 lead in the 10th minute. Alberman led a quick break as the midfielder sent a fantastic ball down the right side to a streaking Dasa. The right back found a wide open Micha who calmly beat Beitar keeper Boris Kleyman to give the Yellow-and-Blue an early lead.

However, ten minutes later Beitar was awarded a penalty after Itay Shecter was fouled in the box and Nikita Rukavytsya easily converted the spot kick to even up the score at 1:1.

With the match back to square one, Maccabi searched for the go ahead goal, but Dasa’s effort went over the Beitar goal and Zahavi’s chance went off of the bar as the frenzied match headed into the 30th minute. As the Yellow-and-Blue continued to control the flow of the match, Zahavi had another wonderful opportunity but his 31st minute header from the middle of the box went out, right over the goal.

Portuguese striker Sa also chipped in with a close range header but his effort went over a leaping Kleyman and over the bar. Zahavi with yet another grand opportunity saw his free kick just scoot by the left post as Kleyman stretched as far as he could to ensure number 7 would stay off of the scoresheet. But he couldn’t keep him off of it for much longer.

In the 43rd minute, Zahavi finally scored his 30th goal of the season tying the Israel League single season goal scoring record with Nisim Elmaliah. The Captain took an unbelievable Micha pass in the box and slammed the ball home behind a helpless Kleyman into the Beitar goal for a 2:1 lead at the break.

The second half began with the same starting XI for both sides. Maccabi’s first chance came in the 54th minute when Sa left the ball for Ben Chaim on the left side. The winger found Zahavi in the box but his header missed the mark as did the Captain’s chance in the 58th minute again from a brilliant play by the winger.

Beitar then punished Maccabi for all of those missed opportunities, when just one minute later Rukavytsya scored his second of the game from in close to draw the Yellow-and-Black even with the Yellow-and-Blue at 2:2.

Ben Chaim who moved his play up a notch in the second half had another chance when his effort from the wing was grabbed by Kleyman to keep the score as is. The 70th minute saw Head Coach Bosz make his first substitution of the match introducing Eden Ben Basat for Sa to help jump start the offense for the remaining 20 minutes.

With Maccabi looking for the winner in the final 10 minutes of the match, Dasa’s chance from Micha missed the mark, Medunjanin’s chip to Zahavi also couldn’t find the goal and Ben Basat’s header went into the waiting hands of the keeper Kleyman. As time continued to wind down Barak Itzhaki came on in favor of Ben Chaim in the 87th minute.

And then it happened. Number 7, the Captain, Eran Zahavi finds the winner out of nowheres in the 90th minute to not only break the Israel League single season goal scoring record with 31 on the campaign, but also to move the Yellow-and-Blue into first place, ahead of rival Hapoel Beer Sheva!

Maccabi Tel Aviv faced Hapoel Raanana at Bloomfield Stadium on Matchday 29 of the WINNER League Championship Playoffs as the club introduced the “Ex-Players Club” with the 1995/96 Double squad and honored the memory of football legend Johan Cruyff, father of Sports Director Jordi Cruyff.

Prior to the match, the members of the 1995/96 Double Season team were recognized as the first class of the brand new “Ex-Players Club” to a standing ovation by the fans in attendance. Nir Klinger, Eli Drikes, Avi Nimni and Shura Uvarov were just some of the players on hand to receive the love and cheers by the supporters. Each player wore a Maccabi jersey with their name and number emblazoned on the back as they paraded around the stadium with the State Cup to the delight of the crowd.

The Club then paid homage to footballing great Johan Cruyff who passed away at the age of 68 after a battle with cancer. Jordi Cruyff, son of the late Johan Cruyff and the club’s Sports Director could not be on hand for the ceremony but sent his thanks in an emotional video message to the fans on the Official Website.

All of the Maccabi players then placed flowers around the number “14” on the pitch as the fans unfurled a huge picture of Cruyff with a sign “Johan Cruyff 1947-2016 RIP” beneath it. The players and training staff stood around the center circle while the whole stadium stood up at once and clapped hands for a minute long tribute to one of the game’s legends.

Head Coach Peter Bosz started Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic in goal with a defensive quartet of Yuval Shpungin, Omri Ben Harush, Eitan Tibi and Carlos Garcia. Gal Alberman and Haris Medunjanin manned the midfield while Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim, Captain Eran Zahavi and Orlando Sa provided the attack.

The match started off on the right foot for Maccabi as it didn’t take long for the Yellow-and-Blue to score a goal after coming back from the International break. Following a brilliant curling effort by Ben Chaim in the 2nd minute that just missed the mark, Dor Micha lofted a ball into the area from the right side in the 7th minute and a Raanana player handled it the box good for a penalty. Zahavi stepped up and confidently slammed the ball home to give his side the 1:0 lead. The goal was his 29th on the year as his chase towards the single season goal scoring record continued unabated.

Raanana, however had two quality chances in the 20th and 22nd minutes when Evans Kangwa’s effort just went wide of the goal and Rajikovic came up big to stop former Maccabi striker Dejan Radonjic on a one-on-one opportunity. Ten minutes later Ben Chaim beat two Raanana players but his strike went wide while Sa’s long range effort from 25 meters out missed the target to keep the score as is.

Kangwa, who proved dangerous all half had a marvelous chance in the 43rd minute to draw his team even, but his effort all alone in front of the goal was stopped cold by Rajikovic’s kick save as the sides headed into the halftime break with Maccabi holding a slim 1:0 advantage.

Medunjanin had the first chance of the second half for Maccabi in the 52nd minute but his sizzler was saved by an alert Arik Yanko who rallied his team on as Raanana had the better chances over the next quarter hour. Yuval Shabtai looked to have evened up the match in the 59th minute, but Rajikovic saved the day yet again with an unbelievable stop to keep his clean-sheet intact.

Coach Bosz introduced Dor Peretz for Sa in the 64th minute and just three minutes later the Yellow-and-Blue took a 2:0 lead. A scathing attack by Maccabi allowed Zahavi to lay the ball off for Ben Chaim who avoided a Ranaana roadblock to chip the ball magnificently over a helpless Yanko good for the two goal advantage.

However, Maccabi wasn’t satisfied just yet and in the 75th minute Medunjanin added his name to the scoresheet. The Bosnian took a wonderful Micha ball in the box, pulled Yanko out of his goal, turned a couple of Raanana defenders inside out and put the ball into the one goal for the 3:0 advantage.

The Yellow-and-Blue made a pair of substitutions over the last ten minutes of the match as Eden Ben Basat and Barak Itzhaki came on for goal scorers Ben Chaim and Medunjanin as Maccabi leapfrogged Hapoel Beer Sheva into first place with the southern side playing Monday night at Beitar Jerusalem.

Carlos Garcia’s early goal was cancelled out by Ovidiu Huban’s marker later on in the first half as the Yellow-and-Blue and Beer Sheva each collected one point for their efforts in a spirited affair at Turner Stadium. The draw leaves Maccabi still just one point shy of the first place hosts.

Head Coach Peter Bosz had to make a few changes from the lineup he had been using over the last few weeks with winger Tal Ben Chaim unavailable due to yellow card accumulation. Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovoc started in goal with Eli Dasa, Carlos Garcia, Eitan Tibi and Avi Rikan on defense. Gal Alberman and Haris Medunjanin started in the midfield while Dor Micha, Eden Ben Basat, Orlando Sa and Captain Eran Zahavi provided the attack.

Beer Sheva looked to strike first applying a tremendous amount of pressure in the opening minutes, but Elyaniv Barda’s 4th minute chance in the box went out of play while the Maccabi defense stood its ground. Zahavi had Maccabi’s opening opportunity in the 10th minute but his effort was knocked away for a corner kick.

And what a corner kick the Captain would deliver! Zahavi swung a perfect ball right into the box and met Garcia’s head for the first goal of the match! The Spaniard now has three goals this campaign with the last two coming on headers against teams in Red named Hapoel as his last marker was the match winner in the first round Tel Aviv Derby.

As the match began settling down after a frantic beginning Muhamed Ghadir had a fantastic chance in the 17th minute for Beer Sheva but the Maccabi goal stopper Rajikovic made a brilliant foot save to keep his side in the lead. However, in the 24th minute Beer Sheva found the equalizer. Maor Bozaglo sent a deep pass into the box that Ovidiu Huban slotted home last a sprawling Rajkovic to even up the score at 1:1.

As the match hit the 33rd minute, Ben Basat delivered a nice ball from the left side into the box to an oncoming Zahavi but it was just out of his reach. As the midfield battle ensued, Tibi, Dasa and Alberman were all alert in keeping Beer Sheva at bay and out of striking distance with the match heading into the break deadlocked at 1:1.

The second half opened with the same quick pace of the first as Alberman moved deep into Hapoel territory and handed off a magnificent pass to Zahavi, but number 7’s close range effort went high over the goal in the 48th minute. Just two minutes later a Mendunjanin left side corner kick went to Sa at the far end of the box who headed it back into the middle of the fray right to Micha. However his opportunity was smashed to safety by the Beer Sheva defense to keep the score as is.

Dor Micha featured ten minutes later again for the Yellow-and-Blue as his double pass with Portuguese striker Orlando Sa was just finger-tipped to safety by a diving Dudu Goresh. Beer Sheva also came close in the 64th minute but their corner kick was headed away by the Maccabi defenders.

Beer Sheva goal scorer Huban was handed the first yellow card of the match after a hard foul in the midfield in the 66th minute and just one minute later Reds coach Barak Bachar introduced Ben Sahar for Mahran Radi. The hosts made a second substitution in the 75th minute bringing on Maor Melikson for Muhamed Ghadir while Alberman picked up a yellow card deep in Beer Sheva territory. 

To try and jump start the offense, Coach Bosz made Maccabi’s first substitute of the evening in the 81st minute as Barak Itzhaki was introduced in place of Ben Basat. Bachar countered with Voba Brown for Maor Bozaglo in the 86th minute as Beer Sheva seemed content to play for the 1:1 draw with only four minutes remaining until injury time.

However, the Yellow-and-Blue defense and shot stopper had to come up big just before time expired keeping the 1:1 scoreline intact as the sides split the points.