A Tal Ben Chaim brace and a Dor Micha strike was good enough for a Maccabi Tel Aviv 3:0 victory over Maccabi Haifa on Matchday 29 as the club will enter the Passover Holiday in good spirits. The win leaves the Yellow & Blue 6 points from the top of the table as they prepare for a home match Saturday night April 15th, 20:30 against Maccabi Petah Tikva.

Prematch
Lito Vidigal made a number of cosmetic changes to his Starting XI as Dor Micha, Gal Alberman and Vidar Kjartansson returned to the fray after not starting in the State Cup Semifinal. Also on the pitch were keeper Predrag Rajikovic along with a defensive quartet of Eli Dasa, Tal Ben Haim, Egor Filipenka and Captain Sheran Yeini. Eyal Golasa and Yossi Benayoun joined Alberman in the midfield while Tal Ben Chaim and Kjartansson played in front with Micha.

Available on the bench were keeper Daniel Lifshitz, Avi Rikan, Ramon Roma, Oscar Scarione, Eliel Peretz, Ruben Micael and Aaron Schoenfeld.

First Half
Maccabi looked to be in full control from the get go and had their first chance of the contest in the 13th minute when Alberman gave Kjartansson a short pass in the box, but the Icelander put the ball over the bar. Six minutes later Ben Chaim’s attempt was blocked while Benayoun handed Kjartansson the ball but again the striker couldn’t find the back of the goal.

However, Ben Chaim would do just that when he took a Golasa pass and slotted it home for a 1:0 Maccabi lead in the 28th minute. Two minutes later, the Yellow & Blue played Tiki-Taka but Golasa missed from 8 meters out while Filipenka’s header off a Ben Chaim corner couldn’t find the target.

But Micha did as he took a magnificent Ben Chaim pass and put it home to give the Yellow & Blue a 2:0 advantage in the 38th minute as the crowd went wild with delight.

Second Half
Haifa made wholesale changes to start the second half as Neta Lavie and Eliran Atar entered the match as the Greens tried to get back into the game. Golasa gave Alberman a nifty pass but the latter put it over the goal in the 52nd minute as Maccabi kept controlling the pace of the contest. Over the next ten minutes Haifa had a couple of chances as they looked to cut ten lead to avail.

Ruben Micael replaced Gal Alberman in the 67th minute as the Yellow & Blue looked for a 3rd marker. And a third they would find via Ben Chaim in the 72nd minute as number 11 pounded in a rebound from a Micha attempt to give Maccabi a 3:0 advantage.

Aaron Schoenfeld came on for Kjartansson in the 76th minute and Ramon Roma entered the match for Egor Filipenka as the Yellow & Blue fans sang into the night celebrating a 3:0 victory just before the Passover Holiday. Maccabi takes on Maccabi Petah Tikva Saturday night April 15th, 20:30 at the Netanya Stadium.