Matchday 14 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al featured Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv hosting Maccabi Petah Tikva at the Ramle Stadium. The young Yellow & Blue came into the contest in 5th place wining 4 of their last 5 matches while the visitors sat in 3rd place. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI featured Mufleh Shalata, Eyal Hen and William Agada on attack.

The complete starting lineup included Daniel Peretz, Amit Glazer, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Yoav Hofmayster, Tamir Glazer, Mufleh Shalata, Eden Kartzev, Prince Thomas, Eyal Hen and William Agada.

First Half
What a start! Maccabi took a quick 1:0 in the 4’ as Prince Thomas led the attack, sent the ball to Agada who put it into the back of the Petah Tikva goal. In the 14’ the visitors had their first chance of the match as Tomer Benbenishti took the ball in the middle of the pitch, advanced towards the goal, but Peretz quelled the threat.

With Maccabi controlling the pace of play, Kartzev began the attack from the back, sent the ball to the right wing where Shalata was waiting and continued to advance towards the goal where he found Thomas who made no mistake to give the hosts a 2:0 lead. One minute later, Agada almost made it 3:0 but his attempt was cleared by the Petah Tikva defense right off the line.

In the 30’ Shalata tried his luck from the right, but keeper Roie Maoz made the stop while 3 minutes later Fadi Najar sent the ball off corner to Kartzev however, Maoz once again made the save. Right before the break, Tamir Glazer stole the ball in the midfield and made his way into the box where he found Thomas, but his header was sent out by the keeper for a corner as the half came to an end.

Second Half
The second half began just as the first did with Maccabi pressing for a goal as Agada’s scorcher went over the bar in the 49’ while 5 minutes later Hofmayster went down the left side, sent the ball to Agada who in turn handed it off to Thomas, but the latter sent it over the goal. However, it would be Petah Tikva who would score and cut the Maccabi lead to 2:1 off a free kick thanks to Ben Benbenishti who put the ball over the wall and behind Peretz in the 63’.

Four minutes later Petah Tikva almost evened up the score when Eyal Inbrum’s header was cleared off the line while in the 83’ another header missed the Maccabi goal. In the 88’ Peretz again was up to the task as he made the save to keep the score as is.

As the match was about to enter injury time, Petah Tikva again missed the target via a header, while at the the end of the pitch, Thomas’s chance just went by the post and out and a through ball to Agada was saved by the visiting keeper. Just as the final whistle was about to be blown, Shachar Druker was issued a red card as he tripped up Ran Vaturi on the way to the goal as the contest ended 2:1 in favor of the Yellow & Blue.

This Saturday, Maccabi “Shachar” will host Maccabi Petah Tikva in a top of the table Israel Youth Premier League battle on Matchday 14. The young Yellow & Blue come into the match on Saturday knowing that a win will leapfrog them over Petah Tikva.

About the upcoming match:
“We have a difficult match against Maccabi Petah Tikva. We want to show that our players have advanced and improved as well as the club as a whole and have our players in a position where they can be a factor with the First Team as well.”

On last week’s win over Hapoel Petah Tikva:
“This was an important win as we continued our positive momentum while also winning 4 of our last 5 matches. I’m happy that the players are bringing aggressiveness and desire to the table which are both very important in the realm of football. To go to an away match at Petah Tikva and do what we did, the players deserve a lot of credit.”

The defensive side of the game:
“The minute we begin to play better football and we are attacking for the majority of time, we are then playing less on the defensive side of the ball as we are controlling the pace of play. The players are also understanding what I told them at the start of the season, that we are the youngest team in the league and it was time for them to gain experience and play substantial minutes. We supported them then and now we see that they are feeling good about themselves especially when they aren’t giving up any goals.”

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Asis David” Petah Tikva, 12:00 Ramle Stadium (U19)
After getting back onto the winning track last week, the club’s Under-19 side hosts a top of the table clash on Matchday 14 of the Israel Youth League Ligat Ha’Al. The young Yellow & Blue have 4 wins in 5 matches and come into the contest in 5th place, just 4 points off the top of the table. Maccabi Petah Tikva enter Saturday in 3rd place and a Yellow & Blue win will leapfrog them over the visitors.

Hapoel Kiryat Shemona – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 14:30 Kiryat Shemona New Synthetic (U17)
The Under-17 squad will head up north for a date with Kiryat Shemona on Matchday 13. Eliezer Ben Aharon’s crew are in first place and are undefeated in league play. The host’s find themselves in 11th and are undefeated in their last 4 matches.

Hapoel “Dani” Ramat Gan – Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv, 12:30 Ramat HaShikma (U16)
The young Yellow & Blue are undefeated in their past 7 matches and are in third place just 3 points off the top of the table. Ramat Gan are in 14th and have won only 2 matches so far this campaign.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Ramat Gan, 13:00 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 South)
The Under-15 South Side will look to continue their fine play as they find themselves in first place and are undefeated. On the other side of the pitch Ramat Gan are in 5th place just 7 points off the top of the table.

Beitar “Oran” Tubruk – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 09:00 Tubruk (U15 North)
With five wins in a row, the Under-15 North squad will look to continue their positive momentum against Beitar Tubruk on Matchday 12. The young Yellow & Blue are in 3rd, 3 points off the top of the table while the host’s are in 5th place and are undefeated in 7 matches.

Hapoel Petah Tikva 0:2 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv
With four wins in 5 matches, the club’s Under-19 side won at Hapoel Petah Tikva on Matchday 13 of the Youth Israel Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. Guy Tzarfati’s squad battled and played an aggressive game to take home the 3 points. William Agada and Eden Kartzev scored for the young Yellow & Blue. For the full match recap Click Here


Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv 2:0 Maccabi “Yehonatan-Yoni” Netanya
The Under-17 beat Maccabi Netanya at home on Matchday 12 and are still undefeated in league play. Rave Assayag and Omri Ram scored for Maccabi “Oded”. Head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon summed up the contest: “We started the game well, exactly how we wanted to. The first half was good and we controlled the pace of play just as we had planned. Our second half wasn’t as good and we weren’t able to convert the chances that we had. The win proves to both the staff and players that we are maturing as a team and we knew how to comeback after the Cup match this past week. However, I did see some players who were still stuck on last match and I’ve got to remind them that they have to quickly put it behind them and move on. It’s on to next Saturday and Kiryat Shemona.”

Hapoel Ashkelon 0:4 Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv
Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” defeated the Ashkelon on Matchday 13 of league play marking the Under-16’s 5th win in 7 matches which moved the team into third place, just 3 points off the top of the table. Or Roizman and Tal Torgman each scored a brace. Head Coach Raymond Atteveld summed up the match: “This was a good win, but we missed a lot of chances on a difficult field. We were offside too many times, but the things we worked on over the last few week’s are improving. All in all it was a good result, but we should have scored more goals.”

Maccabi Jaffa Kabilyo 0:4 Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv
After a win last Matchday, the Under-15 South Side continued with their positive momentum and won at Maccabi Jaffa Kabilyo on Matchday 11 as Maccabi “Eldad” remained in first place. Oskar Glok, Ohad Mizrachi and Amit Kodman were the goal scorers. Head Coach Ori David spoke about the win: “We played against a tough opponent with 10 players who were extremely aggressive, but we were able to find the back of the goal thanks to some set pieces. We will continue to work hard and we are already looking ahead to the next match.”

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv 3:1 Hapoel Raanana
The Under-15 North Team picked up a comeback win on Matchday 11, making it five wins in five matches good for third place on the table and only 3 points away from first place. Aviv Peles, Omer Senior and Kamil Jabara scored for the young Yellow & Blue. Head Coach Asaf Heber reflected on his side’s win: “Despite giving up an early goal from a set piece, we were in total control of the match on the pitch. Before the break we drew even and in the second half we pressed and dominated play leading to a couple of goals. It was a pleasure to watch the players know how to take what we did in training and put it into practice.”

Matchday 13 of the Israel Youth Premier League pitted Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv against Hapoel Petah Tikva as the club’s Under-19 team sat in 5th place with 3 wins and a draw over their last four matches. The host’s came into the contest in 15th place with just 2 league wins. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s attack included Or Dasa, Eylon Almog and William Agada.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv Starting XI: Daniel Peretz, Amit Glazer, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Yoav Hofmayster, Tamir Glazer, Eden Kartzev, Prince Thomas, Or Dasa, Eylon Almog, William Agada.

First Half
Maccabi went on the offensive right from the get to and in the 2’ a Thomas free kick almost found the back of the goal but keeper Yair Hemo made the timely save and sent the ball out for a corner. Ten minutes later, Kartzev tried his luck from long distance but Hemo was in place while in the 15’ a mixup on the Yellow & Blue defensive end gave Yakir Natan a chance in close, but the opposing midfielder couldn’t get a good attempt off.

In the 22’ Dasa took control of the ball in the midfield and went by two defenders, but his opportunity was taken care of by Hemo. Four minutes later Petah Tikva midfielder Tal Zuares came in off the right wing and crossed the ball into the middle but Natan’s header missed the target. As the match hit the 38’ Agada went streaking down the left side, beat a defender and passed the ball to Almog, but his chance was saved by Hemo. Just before the halftime whistle Dasa took the ball in the midfield, but his shot from the top of the box was stopped by the keeper as Maccabi controlled the pace in the first half, however, went into the break goalless.

Second Half
Maccabi tried to break the ice early on in the second half, but in the 54’ it was almost Petah Tikva who would score first as the host’s found the back of the goal, however, it was ruled to be offside. Finally, three minutes later, the young Yellow & Blue would take a 1:0 lead when Almog came down the left and sent a magnificent cross to Agada who headed the ball home. With the U19’s pressing, they would find their second of the contest when Kartzev took a marvelous through ball and beat Hemo on a one-on-one situation for a 2:0 advantage.

In the 75’ Petah Tikva striker Ofer Osher’s chance from the top of the box made its way by the Maccabi defense but missed the post by centimeters. Six minutes later, substitutes Tomer Altman and Eyal Hen played give and go, but Hemo made the stop and in the 87’ Altman’s attempt in the box was saved by the host keeper yet again as Maccabi “Shachar” took home the 2:0 win and the three points.

Hapoel “Nahum Stelmach” Petah Tikva – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv, 13:00 Sirkin Sportek Stadium (U19)
The Club’s Under-19 side visits Hapoel Petah Tikva with the goal of narrowing the gap at the top of the table on Matchday 13. The young Yellow & Blue are in 5th place and have 3 wins and a draw in their last 4 matches while the hosts are in second to last place with 8 league defeats.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Yehonatan-Yoni” Netanya, 10:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U17)
Netanya visits Eliezer Ben Aharon’s undefeated Under-17 squad at Kiryat Shalom on Matchday 12. Maccabi “Oded” are in first place while Netanya find themselves in 11th with 3 league wins so far this campaign.

Hapoel Ashkelon – Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv, 11:00 Ashkelon Training Pitch – 3 (U16)
After an away win at Hapoel Beer Sheva this past week, the Under-16 team visits Ashkelon on Matchday 13. The young Yellow & Blue are in 3rd place with 7 league victories while the host’s sit in 11th with one win out of their last 4 matches.

Maccabi Jaffa Kabilyo – Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv, 08:30 Neve Golasa (U15 South)
Last week, Maccabi “Eldad” found the back of the goal eight times against Rishon Le’Zion in the “Match of the Season” and this weekend they will visit the Jaffa side on Matchday 11. The Under-15 South club are undefeated in first place while the host’s are in 14th place with only one league win.

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Raanana, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 North)
With four straight league wins, the Under-15 North squad will look to keep up the positive momentum against Raanana on Matchday 11. The young Yellow & Blue are in 3rd place just 3-points off the top of the table while the visitors are in 7th with 5 league wins.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 1:1 Maccabi “Shlomi” Netanya
After three straight league wins, the U19 side drew with first place Maccabi Netanya on Matchday 12 of the Israel Youth League Ligat Ha’Al. Ran Vaturi’s dramatic goal in added time helped the young Yellow & Blue salvage a point. Guy Tzarfati’s squad will look to get back onto the winning track next week against Hapoel Petah Tikva. For the full Match Report Click Here.

Hapoel Kfar Saba 2:4 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv
The Under-17 team visited Kfar Saba on Matchday 11 as Eliezer Ben Aharon’s side defeated the hosts on goals by Tal Yegudayev (2), Bar Cohen and Dan Lugassi. Ben Aharon summed up the match: “The first half saw us control the play but the quality of the pitch gave us problems finishing. In the 30’ Kfar Saba went down to 10 men but took the lead at the start of the second half. We were able to quickly come back and take a 4:1 lead in 20 minutes. We then gave up a goal on a clear offside near the end of the match. I want to point out that I was very happy as to how much the whole team wanted to win, from the players on the bench to those on the pitch and because of that we were able to come back after we gave up a goal. There were a few players that took responsibility during some of the difficult minutes and they were able to influence the outcome of the game. I can see a huge improvement in our defensive play in general and that’s something that we really focused on this past month. We’ll continue on to Wednesday when we play a State Cup match at Beer Sheva with the goal of advancing to the next stage.”

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 5:1 Hapoel Beer Sheva
The U16 side hosted Beer Sheva on Matchday 12 and the win moved Maccabi “Eli Fuchs into third place ahead of Beer Sheva, only 5 points from the top of the table. Or Roizman, Yali Lazar, Tal Torjman, Shachar Rosen and Yishay Bozorgi scored for the young Yellow & Blue. Assistant coach Jeffrey Yishai spoke about the match: “All in all we played a good game. Our play down the wings was good as most of the goals came from there. Also from a defensive perspective the players down the wings defended well and helped close down the opponent. Our defensive game has improved, however, we still have to work on how we defend set pieces. We will continue to work on that and improve over the next few matches.”

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 8:1 Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion
The U15 South squad defeated Rishon in the “Match of the Season” as the two clubs were in the top two positions on the table with the same record as Ori David’s club remains unbeaten and now occupies sole possession of first. Elad Kaplan and Oskar Glok scored braces while Rom Gross, Shon Edri, Itay Ben Kimon and Orel Azarzar also found the back of the goal. Ori David summed up the win: “This was an important win in the “Match of the Season”. We played well for most of the contest and we scored some terrific goals which gave us a chance to see some of the player’s qualities as they rose to the occasion. I’m very happy.”

Hapoel “Nir” Haifa 0:4 Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv
The club’s positive momentum continued after last Matchday’s win along with a midweek State Cup victory as the Under-15 North side won in convincing fashion over the Carmel Reds. Omer Senior, Aviv Palas, Kamil Jabara and Ben Lineker scored. Head Coach Asaf Heber summed up the win: “We prepared properly for an opponent that likes to play the long ball. We pressed all over the pitch in order to prevent the long balls and were in the right position to take care of them. We moved the ball into the empty spaces and we attacked very quickly. I’m very happy for the guys and we are working very hard for exactly this reason. Now we will get ready for Raanana next week.”

Matchday 12 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al saw Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv host Maccabi Netanya at the Ramle Stadium. The young Yellow & Blue entered the contest in 4th place with 3 straight wins while Netanya began the day in first place. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s attack included Eylon Almog, Eyal Hen and William Agada.

The balance of the starting lineup featured Daniel Peretz in goal along with Amit Glazer, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Tomer Machluf, Tamir Glazer, Eden Kartzev and
Prince Thomas.

First Half
The match began with most of the play taking place in the midfield as either club couldn’t break free for a chance on goal. Finally in the 12’ Almog took a short corner on the right side of the pitch, took a fine attempt but the opposing keeper Amit Merijen blocked the ball and sent it out.

In the 18’ the visitors had their first opportunity as they tried to find the goal from long distance but the ball was blocked by the Maccabi defense while 7 minutes later Netanya’s Yuness Malada took a ball at the top of the box but his shot went out. As the match hit the 37’ Kartzev sent a through ball to Eyal Hen on the left and went past a couple of defenders, sent it to Agada but his fine attempt was blocked by the keeper as the half ended goalless.

Second Half
The Yellow & Blue looked to score early on in the second half and in the 47’ Tamir Glazer sent the ball to Agada who turned in the box but was stopped by the Netanya defense while immediately after that Kartzev’s free kick was blasted at the visitors goal but Merijen made the save. In the 56’ Malada again threatened the Maccabi goal as he went into the box, but Peretz was up to the task and made the timely stop.

As the match continued at a quick pace, Netanya’s Ohad Hazot tried his luck from long distance in the 65’ but the ball went out while ten minutes later the striker Ram Goaga’s header was caught by Peretz as the visitors came closer and closer to scoring. And one minute later that’s exactly what they did to take the lead as Mustafa Baransi left Malada the ball which he promptly put into the Maccabi goal for a 1:0 lead.

Maccabi came close to drawing even two minutes later as Muflah Shalata sent a cross to Agada in the middle of the box, but his attempt just went over the bar while in the 83’ Sahar Barami also gave Agada a terrific ball but he sent it over the goal. As the match neared its end, Peretz made a finger tip save keeping out a Netanya insurance goal in the 90’ which turned out to be crucial as deep into stoppage time, Tomer Altman who had come on as a substitute found Vaturi who headed home the tying goal to split the points in a 1:1 draw.

This past Tuesday saw the Club’s Under-19 side, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv defeat Ramat Hasharon 1:0 at Grundman Stadium. Following the match, Head Coach Guy Tzarfati spoke about the game that was, plus he looked ahead to Saturday’s contest against the first place squad, Maccabi Netanya.

About the win over Ramat Hasharon:
“I’m happy that we were able to continue the positive momentum and now we have won 3 matches in a row. It was important for me to see many minutes of quality football over the course of the match and not slow and sluggish play. I believe that other than the goal that we scored, we had three excellent chances that we should have found the back of the goal on thanks to some fine football. We’re happy to take the three points and then it was time to begin preparing for Netanya.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash against Netanya:
“It’s always a challenge to play the top of the table club. If we continue playing our way and the players keep performing, then I’m not worried at all. That’s our goal and we’re getting ready for the match with a ton of enthusiasm.”

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Shlomi” Netanya, 12:00 Ramle Stadium (U19)
After winning three matches in a row in league play, the Under-19 club hosts the first place side Maccabi Netanya on Matchday 12 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. The Yellow & Blue sit in 4th place and a win on Saturday will pull them to within 3 points of the top spot as Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s player will look to keep up their positive momentum.

Hapoel Kfar Saba – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 08:30 Kfar Saba Lower Synthetic Training pitch (U17)
The Club’s Under-17 team heads to Kfar Saba on Matchday 11 as Eliezer Ben Aharon’s side finds themselves in first place and are undefeated so far this campaign. The Greens are in 15th place and sport only one league win this season.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Beer Sheva, 10:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U16)
Matchday 12 features the Under-16 club hosting Beer Sheva as the sides sit in 6th and 5th place respectively. A win will help the young Yellow & Blue leapfrog the southern team.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 South)
The Under-15 South side welcomes Rishon Le’Zion as both teams are tied for first place entering Matchday 10 and are both undefeated.

Hapoel “Nir” Haifa – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 14:30 Kiryat Haim (U15 North)
After a last second win last Matchday and a midweek Cup victory, the Under-15 North squad will look to keep up the fine plat when they visit Hapoel Haifa on Matchday 10. The young Yellow & Blue are in 3rd place only 3 points from the top of the table while the Carmel Reds are in 12th place having lost 6 of 9 contests.