Maccabi Tel Aviv “Shahar” the club’s youth side registered its first win of the season on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Maccabi Netanya “Shlomi”.

The win followed two draws in the previous two fixtures of the current season. Farpa Guyagon scored twice and Raveh Assayag added a third goal before Amit Yaacov’s consolation effort for Netanya.

In other fixtures for the youth academy teams, hosts Ashdod beat Maccabi’s boys’ (under-17)  team 3-2 and the U16 team in the same category lost 2-1 at home to Beitar Tubruk but the U15 team scored a huge 15-0 away win over Hapoel Nahalat Yehuda in the cup. The goals included two hat tricks for Omer Dinar and Osher Bruchim and Yosef Lior, Tom Bloch and Agam Hanoch each scoring two goals. Additional goals were scored by Ido Dalal, Ron Rabinovitch and Yehezkel Ben.

Maccabi “Shahar” Tel Aviv’s youth team asserted their authority over Maccabi Netanya in the third round of the youth premier league on Saturday and registered their first win of the season following two draws as Farpa Guyagon scored twice and Raveh Assayag added a third goal before Amit Yaacov’s consolation effort for Netanya.

Guyagon settled Maccabi’s nerves already in the second minute after Assayag sent in a cross from the right for his the Ivory Coast midfielder to slot into the back of the net. He added a second strike in the 36th minute as Maccabi asserted their dominance.

Assayag added a third goal for coach Eliezer Ben Aharon’s side by rising high to head over Netanya goalkeeper Razi Abu Hamza into the net in the 51st minute.

Netanya’s Amit Yaacov scored a consolation goal for the visitors and the result was never in doubt.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s lineup: Ben Moussaioff, Guy Mizrahi, Omer Yitzhak, Dan Lugassi, Shahar Rosen,  Nadav Nidam (Assaf Hershko, 53), Omri Ram (Tal Turgeman, 78), Rotem Yatzker (Niv Berkovitz, 57), Raveh Assayag, Farpa Guyagon (Shai Balahsan, 67), Nehorai Biton (Shaked Navon, 46). 

Maccabi Tel Aviv “Shahar” v. Maccabi Netanya “Shlomi” 16:00 in Ness Ziona.
Following two draws in the opening rounds of the season, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth side will be looking for a first victory but Netanya will not want to sustain another loss to add to the one they have already suffered in the opening round and the draw they earned the following week.

Ashdod “Gilbert” v. Maccabi Tel Aviv “Oded” (Boys A), 09:00 at Ashdod College
Coach Uri David’s charges will be making a comeback after a long break and will travel to Ashdod for the opening league fixture of the season.

Maccabi Tel Aviv “Eli Fuchs” v. Beitar Tubruk, 08.30 at Kiryat Shalom
The boys’ B team will host Beitar Tubruk from Netanya in the fourth round of their league. The boys have notched a win and a loss and have another fixture outstanding. Tubruk will be full of confidence with a perfect record from their three matches.

Hapoel Nahalat Yehuda v. Maccabi Tel Aviv “Eldad” 11.00 at Nahalat Yehuda, Rishon Lezion
The boys’ C team will begin official action for the first time prior to launching in the league next week and prepare for that occasion with a cup tie against Nahalat Yehuda on Saturday.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth team registered their second draw in succession in the youth Premier League on Saturday after a 1-1 result away to Hapoel Ramat Gan. That followed the 2-2 home draw on the opening day of the season a week earlier, at home to Hapoel Beersheba.

Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon made one change to the previous Saturday’s opening lineup by introducing Nadav Nidam in attack in place of Rotem Yatzker, a change that was to prove vital.

Maccabi were all dominant from the start and had at least three good chances to take the lead before Nidam put the visitors into the lead in the 27th minute when he latched onto a pass from Omri Ram and shot diagonally into the back of the net from close range.

Ramat Gan almost managed to equalise four minutes later when a shot by Chauncy Freeman rebounded off the crossbar, and in the 38th, Maccabi were left ruing another missed opportunity when Shaked Navon narrowly missed the target.

The second half was still very much dominated by the visitors, who had at least three more good chances to find the net, but their misses cost them the three points when Freeman equalised in the 89th minute against the run of play with a well taken header.

Maccabi’s lineup: Or Yitzhak; Guy Mizrahi, Dan Lugasi, Omer Yitzhaki, Shahar Rosen; Niv Berkovitz, Shai Balahsan (Or Reisman, 57), Nadav Nidam (Afek Sapir Navot, 65); Raveh Assayag (Tal Turgeman, 74) Shaked Navon (Fafara Guyagon, 46), Omri Ram.

Maccabi Shahar Tel Aviv, the club’s youth team, opened their league campaign on Saturday at their new home ground in Ness Ziona and came back from a goal down to register a 2-2 draw. It was an inaugural appearance for coach Eliezer Ben Aharon who picked Omri Ram, Shai Balahssen and Raveh Assayag as his frontline players.

Maccabi opened strongly and Balahssen got the hosts off to a great start with a shot from the edge of the area in the fifth minute that left Beersheba’s goalkeeper no chance.

A subsequent attack, as Maccabi showed their dominance was thwarted by the Beersheba defence and the visitors managed to equalise in the 12th minute when Ilai Ben-Shitrit equalised from close range. Rom Elyagon almost made it 2-1 to Beersheba when he lobbed Or Yitzhak in Maccabi’s goal, but his shot bounced off the crossbar.

Maccabi dominated the first part of the second half but Beersheba went ahead against the run of play on the hour when Roei Avitan latched on to a cross from the left and shot diagonally to the right to make it 2-1 to the visitors.

Omri Ram restored parity in the 62nd minute when Beersheba goalkeeper failed to clear a shot from left back Shahar Rosen and Omri Ram connected with the rebound and rolled the ball home to seal a draw.

Nir Berkovich almost gave Maccabi the three points but his shot at goal in the 73rd minute rebounded off both uprights before being cleared by the Beersheba defence. Further attempts at goal were fruitless.

Maccabi’s lineup: Or Yitzhak; Guy Mizrahi, Dan Lugasi, Omer Itzhaki, Shahar Rosen; Nir Berkovich, Shai Balahssen (Nadav Nidam, 46), Rotem Yatzker, Raveh Assayag (Tal Turgeman, 81), Shaked Navon (Yahli Lazar, 60); Omri Ram.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s girls’ academy opened training ahead of the new season on Sunday with a training session at the club’s Kiryat Shalom facility. It was an opportunity for the established girls to start getting back to fitness and for some new recruits to get their first taste of what to expect at the club.

The female academy is run according to a programme prepared by Patrick Van Leeuwen, the club’s performance director, and training will be run by Israel national team captain and ASA Tel Aviv player, Shai Sadeh. She will be assisted by coaches and support staff who will prepare a new generation of players with the best possible conditions at their disposal.

The academy will be divided into three age groups according to year of birth: Youth (2001-05), Girls (2006-08) and Youngsters (2009-12).

Training will include three soccer sessions, physical fitness, video analysis, diet, mental coaching and medical assessment.

The youth and girls’ teams will participate in the Israel Football Association league and if it is determined not to register a youngsters’ team in the league, they will participate in special tournaments and training fixtures against various opposition.

In preparation for the new league season, which begins on Aug. 24, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth team finished as runners-up in the Aug. 14 Jerusalem Cup tournament featuring some of Israel’s top youth sides.

Maccabi were drawn into a group with Hapoel Beersheba and Bnei Sakhnin. A second group in the six-team tournament included Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv. Maccabi beat Beersheba 2-1 and Sakhnin 3-1 to finish top of their group and set up a final showdown with Maccabi Haifa, who topped the other group but the latter side beat coach Eliezer Ben-Aharon’s outfit 3-1 in the championship encounter.

Maccabi will open their league campaign on Aug. 24 with a home fixture against Hapoel Beersheba.

Maccabi “Shahar” Tel Aviv, the club’s youth (under-18) side, coached by Eliezer Ben-Aharon, will kick off its challenge for the Premier League title on Saturday, Aug. 24 against Hapoel Beersheba, according to the fixtures draw that was held on Thursday. 

The youngsters returned from their training camp in Bulgaria last week and are continuing preparations for the tough matches that lie ahead.

The Tel Aviv derby against arch-rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv will be held in the penultimate, 14^th round of the league, while other intriguing clashes, against Beitar Jerusalem will be held in the sixth round, against Maccabi Petah Tikva in the ninth, and Maccabi Haifa in the 10^th round.

Maccabi’s list of first-round fixtures:

1. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Hapoel Beersheba (Aug. 24)
2. Hapoel Ramat Gan v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Aug. 31)
3. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Maccabi Netanya (Sept. 14)
4. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Hapoel Kiryat Shmona (Sept. 21)
5. Bnei Sakhnin v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Sept. 28)
6. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Beitar Jerusalem (Oct. 19)
7. Hapoel Rishon Lezion v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Oct. 26)
8. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Hapoel Ramat Hasharon (Nov. 2)
9. Maccabi Petah Tikva v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Nov. 9)
10. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Maccabi Haifa (Nov. 30)
11. Hapoel |Raanana v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Dec. 7)
12. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Hapoel Nof Hagalil (Dec. 21)
13. Hapoel Hadera v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Dec. 25)
14. Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Hapoel Tel Aviv (Dec. 28)
15. Beitar Tubruk v. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Jan. 1, 2020)

On Saturday morning two Maccabi Tel Aviv “Avi Cohen” Youth Academy teams flew to Boyana, Bulgaria for a 7 day training camp. The Under-19 and Under-17 squads headed out to prepare for the 2019/20 season and will each play three friendlies against CSKA Sofia, Vitosha Bistritsa and Lokomotiv Sofia.

The teams will hold two training sessions each day and will face local clubs over the course of the training camp which will also include video analysis, fitness room and swimming.

Match Schedule
Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv U19:
29.7 – CSKA Sofia U19
31.7 – Vitosha Bistritsa U19
2.8 – CSKA Sofia 1st team

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv (U17):
29.7 – Lokomotiv Sofia U17
31.7 – Vitosha Bistritsa U17
2.8 – Lokomotiv Sofia/Vitosha Bistritsa (U19)