The Israel Under-17 team played their first match of the European Championship in Chesterfield and fell to the host country, England 2:1.

Five Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department players are part of Head Coach Gady Brumer’s squad including Dan Lugassi and Ido Shahar who featured in the Starting Lineup as Rave Assayag made his debut in the 73’ for the Blue & White.

Israel fell behind 1:0 in the 29’ via a penalty but drew even on Dan Lugassi’s spot kick from 11 meters in the 41’. However, England found the winner in the 61’ to take home the victory.

The Blue & White will face Switzerland and Italy in Group A action later this week.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Petah Tikva, 11:30 Ramle (U19)
The Under-19 squad will look to keep up their positive momentum when the host Hapoel Petah Tikva on Matchday 28 of the Israel Youth Football Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. The young Yellow & Blue enter the contest in first place with a 3-point lead over second place Hapoel Raanana. The visitor’s are in second to last place on the table and have gone winless over their last 5 matches.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv (U17)
The Under-17 team is on break until May 16th due to the Israel National Team participating in the European Championships. The side sent 5 representatives to the competition in England.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Ashkelon, 12:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U16)
After a week off, the Under-16 club gets back to action when they face Ashkelon on Matchday 28. Raymond Atteveld’s side are in first place due to a better goal differential than Beitar Jerusalem as they are level on points. The visitor’s are in 14th place with 6 straight losses.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Beer Sheva, 10:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 South)
The young Yellow & Blue Under-15 South will look to wrap up their league title with a win against second place Hapoel Beer Sheva who are two points behind Maccabi on the table.

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Kfir Saba, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 North)
The Under-15 North squad will welcome Hapoel Kfar Saba on Matchday 29 of league play. Maccabi “Ilan”are in 3rd place with 6 wins out of their last 7 matches while Kfir Saba are in 4th place with 4 wins in 5 contests.

Maccabi Netanya 1:3 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv (U19)
The Under-19 side defeated Maccabi Netanya on Matchday 27 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al as Guy Tzarfati’s squad came back from a 1:0 deficit to pick up a 3:1 win. William Agada, Eylon Almog and Eyal Hen scored for the Yellow & Blue as they remain 3 points ahead of 2nd place Hapoel Raanana. For the Full Match Report Click Here.

Maccabi Netanya 1:5 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv (U17)
After locking up the league title a couple of weeks ago, the Under-17 side also defeated Netanya on Matchday 27. The young Yellow & Blue increased their lead to 18 points atop the table with 3 games remaining. Rave Assayag scored a hat-trick while Dor Dego and Shaked Navon also scored. Head Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon summed up the win: “We played a very high quality game which was a pleasure to watch that was also very aggressive. Netanya scored in the opening minute due to our mistake. We got back into the contest and scored some gorgeous goals by the half and took the lead. We scored another goal at the beginning of the second half which for all intents and purposes finished off the game as Netanya stopped believing and then we scored two more goals. People are asking us what are we playing for at this point? You won the championship so where is the motivation coming from? Our answer is that we are trying to turn the season into something extra special. Our lead is sitting at 18 points from second place Maccabi Haifa. We want to continue on. We are now going on a National Team break and will return to play on May 16th against Kiryat Shemona and our goal will be to continue to play quality football. I want to wish good luck to the National Team players who are heading to the tournament in England. We have 5 players who will be representing Israel.”

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv (U16)
Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv are on break. Next week they’ll return to action when they welcome Hapoel Ashkelon. With 3 matches left, the U16 side are in first place thanks to a better goal differential over Beitar Jerusalem.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 4:0 Beitar Jerusalem
The Under-15 South team fell to Jerusalem at home on Matchday 28. The Yellow & Blue are in first place but their lead was cut to only 2 points. Next week, Ori David’s side will host Hapoel Beer Sheva in a Match of the Season that may determine the league champion.

Hapoel Tel Aviv North 0:4 Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv
After advancing to the State Cup Final, the Under-15 North squad took care of Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Derby on Matchday 28. The Yellow & Blue are in 3rd place with 6 wins out of their last 7 games. Or Roizman, Nair Amda, Yonatan Paz and Ben Lineker scored for Asaf Heber’s side who said following the contest: “After advancing to the State Cup Final we had to face Hapoel Tel Aviv and there’s nothing like a Derby to keep the motivation high. We began the match very well and we scored an early goal. We controlled the pace of play for the most part and we scored three more goals later on in the contest.”

The Under-19 club visited Maccabi Netanya on Matchday 27 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al, entering the day in first place with a 3 point lead over Hapoel Raanana. Netanya came into the contest with only 2 wins out of their last 8 matches and in 3rd place.

Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI included, keeper Daniel Peretz, Noam Cohen, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Yoav Hofmayster, Amit Glazer, Tomer Altman, Prince Thomas, Mufleh Shalata, Eylon Almog and William Agada.

First Half
The match began with each side playing tentative football as the opening opportunity occurred in the 8’ when the host’s found the back of the Maccabi goal. Shlav Samorolo took the ball on the right side and crossed into the box to Eyad Haj who put it into the far corner for a 1:0 Netanya advantage.

In the 19’ Maccabi drew a penalty and had a chance to tie up the game when Altman sent the ball to Agada who double passed with Thomas, but Agada was pulled down by a Netanya defender good for a spot kick from 11 meters. Almog stepped up to take the penalty but the keeper Amit Marjin made the save. However, Tzarfati’s charges didn’t let up and continued looking for the equalizer as Najar passed the ball to Agada on the left wing who found Shalata breaking down the side but his chance was also taken care of by Marjin.

Shalata then found Altman in the middle of the pitch who made his way into the area but his attempt couldn’t find the target in the 26’ while 4 minutes later Yunes Malada almost doubled the Netanya lead, but Peretz parried the ball away to safety for a corner.

In the 35’ Altman sent a beauty of a through ball to Agada who beat the keeper to draw even at 1:1. Almog had a chance in the box to take the lead late in the first half but his shot deflected off a Netanya player and went out for a corner while the host’s also had an opportunity to take the lead but Peretz made the save as the side’s went into the break deadlocked at 1:1.

Second Half
Malada had the first chance of the second half when he went down the right side and crossed to Haj in the box, but his one on one attempt against Peretz went off the bar. In the 53’ Maccabi took a 2:1 lead when Shalata went down the right wing and sent the ball into the box to an awaiting Almog who turned and found the far corner of the goal for a gorgeous strike.

Almog had a chance to score his second of the match in the 67’ but Marjin made the save after a nice team play. Maccabi then took control of the pace of play and scored an insurance goal via Hen who took a nice Altman ball and picked up the young Yellow & Blue’s 3rd of the match in the 90’ to take the 3:1 win.

Maccabi “Shlomi” Netanya – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv, 11:30 Beit Maccabi Netanya (U19)
The Under-19 side will look to continue their fine play on Matchday 27 of the Israel Youth Premier League when they face 3rd place squad Netanya. Maccabi “Shachar” sits in 1st place with a 3-point lead over Hapoel Raanana while Netanya comes into the contest with only 2 wins out of their last 8 matches. Click here for the fixtures remaining for the Under-19 top of the table teams.

Maccabi “Yehonatan-Yoni” Netanya – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, Netanya Shapira (U17)
Although the Under-17 team already won the League title two weeks ago, there are still plenty of matches left in the season as they head to Netanya on Matchday 27 with a 16 point advantage over the 2nd place club. The host’s are in 9th place with 1 win out of their last 5 matches.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv (U16) are on break. Next week they’ll return to action when they welcome Hapoel Ashkelon. With 3 matches left, the U16 side are in first place thanks to a better goal differential over Beitar Jerusalem.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv- Beitar “Gadi” Jerusalem, 17:00 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 South)
The Under-15 South team will look to wrap up the league championship this week on Matchday 28 as they sit in 1st with a 5 point lead over Hapoel Beer Sheva. Beitar are in 6th place with 10 wins out of their last 11 encounters.

Hapoel Tel Aviv North – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 15:00 Wolfson 2 (U15 North)
After advancing to the State Cup Finals earlier in the week, the U15 side has a Derby on Matchday 28 as they are in 3rd place with 5 wins out of their last 6 matches. The Reds are in 14th and are winless in their last 5 contests.

The Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al is heading into the final stages of the season as the club’s will play Matchday 27 action this coming weekend, April 28, 2018. Only 5 points separate the top 3 teams at the top of the table and Maccabi “Shachar” are in 1st place with a 3-point lead over second place Hapoel Raanana.

There are four Matchdays left in the campaign and the champion will be determined over the next month. Below are the games remaining for the top 3 teams in the league:

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv
MD 27: Maccabi Netanya – Away (3rd place)
MD 28 Hapoel Petah Tikva – Home (15th place)
MD 29 Maccabi Petah Tikva – Away (5th place)
MD 30 Kiryat Shemona – Home (9th place)

Hapoel Raanana
MD 27: Bnei Sakhnin – Home (10th place)
MD 28: Maccabi Haifa – Away (4th place)
MD 29: Hapoel Beer Sheva (7th place)
MD 30: Hapoel Ramat Hasharon (13th place)

Maccabi Netanya
MD 27: Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Home (1st place)
MD 28: Maccabi Petah Tikva – Away (5th place)
MD 29: Beitar Jerusalem – Home (12th place)
MD 30: Bnei Yehuda – Away (8th place)

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 5:0 Hapoel Ramat HaSharon
The Under-19 squad continued their fine play by winning at home against Ramat HaSharon on Matchday 26 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. The victory keeps Maccabi “Shachar” in first place, 3 points ahead of 2nd place Hapoel Raanana. Eylon Almog and William Agada recorded braces while Tomer Altman scored a single marker. For the full Match Report Click Here.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv 5:3 Hapoel Kfar Saba
After winning the league last Matchday, the U17 side continued to pick up victories, this time against Hapoel Kfar Saba on Matchday 26 as they have a 16 point lead over the second place side along with 22 wins out of 26 contests. Shai Balahssan, Shaked Navon, Ido Sahar and Bar Cohen with a brace scored for the young Yellow & Blue. Head Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon: “We began the match well and we scored two goals in a minute. The second half was not as good as the first and in essence we lost as Kfar Saba scored a pair of goals and we only found the back the goal once. I’ll take the start of the game which was one of the best we’ve had and the 22nd win out of the 26 matches we’ve played which is an excellent record.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva 3:4 Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv
The Under-16 club defeated Hapoel Beer Sheva in the “Match of the Season” as they remained in first place. Maccabi and Beitar have the same amount of points, but the Yellow & Blue have a better goal differential. Tal Torjman, Nehoray Bitton, Or Roizman and Yishay Bozorgi scored. Raymond Atteveld summed up the contest: “We controlled the game completely. They tried pressing us but we kept finding a way out. In the first half only, we created 7 scoring chances, but only scored once. After the break we quickly scored even though they tried to disrupt us. We kept playing good organized attacking and defending football. We scored to make it 3:0 and then the team became a bit disorganized and the opponent took advantage of that and they scored a goal but then we made it 4:1. After that, they tried to throw everything at us. We countered with 4 1v1 situations with the goalkeeper, but we didn’t take our chances. We conceded another goal from a penalty, when we were late with a sliding tackle in the box. We helped the opponent get back into the game with our attitude of taking it lightly, which we didn’t do before that! That’s what we need to continue! Great win nevertheless against a direct opponent. Compliments to the team! Some great performances and awesome desire to do the right thing and win! Wow…. Happy coach!”

Hapoel Ramat Gan 0:1 Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv
The Under-15 South squad played away at Hapoel Ramat Gan on Matchday 27 as Ori David’s team picked up the win and the 3-points to give them a 5 point lead over the 2nd place side with 3 matches remaining. Ori Halevi scored for Maccabi as David summed up the win: “It was difficult to open up our regular style of game due to the state of the pitch, but we were able to show character, will and determination. That’s what we brought to the match in an amazing way. Now we have to get ready for the State Cup semifinal on Tuesday against Hapoel Beer Sheva.”

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv 4:0 Beitar Tubruk
The Under-15 North team got back onto the winning track against Tubruk on Matchday 27 of league play. The young Yellow & Blue are in 3rd place with 5 wins out of their last 6 matches. Ben Linker, Aviv Palas, Omer Rozio and Tomer Fridman scored for Maccabi. Head Coach Asaf Heber spoke about the victory: “The players came into the contest with aggressiveness and determination from the first minute. We were able to pick up a good result and we prepared properly for the opponent as we knew that our advantage was on the wings and I’m happy that’s where our goals came from. We are now turning our sights to the State Cup match on Tuesday.”

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv entered their Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al Matchday 26 contest against Ramat HaSharon in first place with a 3 point advantage at the top of the table.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI included keeper Daniel Peretz, Noam Cohen, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Yoav Hofmayster, Amit Glazer, Tomer Altman, Prince Thomas, Mufleh Shatlata, Eylon Almog and William Agada,

First Half
After ten minutes of action, Almog came down the right side and unleashed a scorcher but Adir Rafael made the timely save while five minutes later Ramat HaSharon’s striker Ron Ashkenazi made his way through the center of the pitch from the right but his attempt went over the bar.

Thomas and Agada almost helped Maccabi to a lead in the 19’ when the latter cut into the box from the left side and handed the former the ball, but Rafael made the stop. The next chance came from Ramat HaSharon as Ashkenazi took a tricky shot in the 25’ which Peretz saved, but the rebound went to Tal Daoun whose attempt just missed the target.

In the 28’ Altman sent a fantastic through ball to Almog who beat Rafael from a tough angle to give Maccabi a 1:0 while just two minutes later Tzarfati’s charges would double the lead when Thomas sent a through ball to Agada who beat the defenders to take a 2:0 advantage.

Altman tried his luck in the 40’ but his attempt went over the bar, however, Almog did find the back of the goal for the U19’s third goal of the half for his second of the match and a 3:0 lead after 45 minutes of action.

Second Half
Maccabi came out of the half flying and added to their goal total when Almog took a long distance screamer from 20 meters that Rafael parried but it went right to Agada who made no mistake as he scored his second of the contest for a 4:0 lead.

The young Yellow & Blue didn’t stop there as Altman took an Agada pass from the left and intelligently found the back of the goal for a 5:0 advantage in the 59’ as Tzarfati’s side continued to dominate. In the 70’ keeper Roie Man entered the contest in place of Peretz giving him his U19 debut and 15 minutes later Ramat HaSharon almost pulled a goal back but Omri Ben Moha’s opportunity went by the post.

In the 88’ Ramat HaSharon midfielder Yuval Sadeh received his 2nd yellow and left his side with 10-men as Maccabi wrapped up a 5:0 win.

Hapoel Ashkelon 0:2 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv
The Under-19 side picked up another win, this time at Hapoel Ashkelon on Matchday 25 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. The Yellow & Blue increased their lead atop of the table to 3 points thanks to goals by Eylon Almog via penalty in the 43’ and William Agada in the 70’ on an assist by Tomer Altman. For the Full Match Report CLICK HERE.

Hapoel Haifa “Ben Zion” 1:3 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv
The Under-17 squad won the league title with 5 Matchdays to spare as they increased their first place lead to 16 points. Gil Ben Shalosh, Asaf Hershko and Shay Balahssan scored for the young Yellow & Blue. For Head Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon’s comments following the match CLICK HERE.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 4:1 Hapoel “Nir” Ramat Hasharon
Raymond Atteveld’s Under-16 team also remained in first place with a better goal differential thanks to goals by Yali Lazar, Yonatan Paz, Hadar Mor and Yishay Bozorgi. Atteveld summed up the match: “As expected the match was not simple just like the last contest against them. The opponent played defensively and physically and at times extremely physical. I’m happy that the side kept clam and played football. We scored two goals at critical times, just ahead of the break and that motivated the players. The second half we scored the third goal fairly quickly. We controlled the pace of play and unfortunately we gave up an easy goal and that is something we had to deal with and an important lessons for the guys. We then scored the fourth goal but we also missed plenty of times. I’m happy with the result as it was a tough opponent, but we could have scored more goals and not given up any gifts to our rivals. Thinking back to the goalless draw we had last time with them, then we’re content with the result.”

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 5:0 Maccabi Yaffo Kabilyo
The Under-15 South club hosted the Jaffa team on Matchday 26. The Yellow & Blue have a five point lead atop of the table with 4 matches left in the campaign as they received goals from Liel Shota, Ori HaLevi, Bar Lin and Oskar Glok x2. Head Coach Ori David said following the match: “The match didn’t begin well but as the game moved along we took advantage of our opportunities. We found a way during our training sessions to maintain the same level of play for the majority of the game.”

Hapoel Raanana 1:0 Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv
After four wins in a row, the Under-15 North squad fell to Raanana away on Matchday 26. Head Coach Asaf Heber summed up the match: “We played an excellent team who defeated us due to their aggressiveness and desire. We weren’t able to play our usual style of game due to their pressure and we gave up a goal on a set piece in the second half. At this stage of the season we have to understand that talent alone won’t win games; hard work on the pitch will. We will look to get back on the winning track next week.”

After last week’s important win against Beer Sheva, the Under-19 club traveled to Ashkelon the last place team on Matchday 25 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. The young Yellow & Blue entered the day in first place with a 2 point lead.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI included: Daniel Peretz, Noam Cohen, Alon Shtrozberg. Yoav Hofmayster, Tomer Mahluf, Amit Glazer, Mufleh Shalata, Tomer Altman, Netanel Peretz, Eylon Almog and William Agada.
Prince Thomas was unavailable as he was in IDF basic training.

First Half
The small pitch allowed for the host’s to play a more defensive style of game with counterattack’s which was evident from the outset of the contest as the first chance was in the 5’ by Ashkelon when a cross from the wing found their striker in the box but his header went out. Ten minutes later Shalata tried his luck from outside of the box but the ball found the outside netting of the goal.

In the 22’ Altman had a nice attempt, but his shot was taken care of by the keeper as the next twenty minutes were played primarily in the midfield with the young Yellow & Blue controlling the pace. With two minutes left in the half, Tzarfati’s charges got onto the board as a cross from the left made its way into the box and was touched by an Ashkelon defender’s hand, good for a spot kick. Almog made no mistake from 11 meters and sent the ball into the left corner, behind the keeper who had guessed the correct side but was too late to make the save. 1:0 Maccabi as the two teams headed into the break.

Second Half
The opening 25 minutes of the second half was again played in the midfield with very few chances being created by either squad as the Yellow & Blue controlled the pace of play.

In the 70’ Maccabi doubled the lead off a short corner. Shalata sent the ball to Altman who lifted it towards the goal as the opposing keeper went out to make the save, Agada arrived in time to head it home for a 2:0 advantage. Five minutes later, Agada sent a through ball 40 meters down the left wing to Eyal Hen who passed to Nidam, but his opportunity was taken care of by the Ashkelon keeper.

The host’s tried to cut the lead in the 80’ but Peretz made the alert save to send the ball out for a corner as the match came to an end with Maccabi “Shachar” taking home the 3-points and the win to remain in first place.