The Under-19 club opened up their Ligat Ha’Al Youth League season with a 1:0 win over SC Ashdod on a Dan Glazer goal. The coach Ziv Arie spoke about the win, returning from the Champions League and the change in weather:
“It’s always fun to win and pick up a clean sheet on Matchday One. I was concerned about the team’s ability to change gears from the Champions League and Chelsea, but they were able to focus on the task at hand, control the tempo and prevented Ashdod from getting opportunities. I was a bit disappointed about the final 20 minutes of the game and there is still plenty to work on.”
The substitutions that helped the club:
“The easiest thing to say is that we have new players that need time to mesh as a team and we won due to good luck. But I’d rather look at this as ability and practice. We will work hard and continue on. The journalists can always discuss what was a good sub and what wasn’t. Against Chelsea the subs perhaps hurt our chances. We have a deep squad, a good bench and another six players that weren’t even in the squad today but throughout the year everyone will help.”
On the weather changes:
“After facing Chelsea everyone was talking about the difference in the level of play but there is another big difference, the weather. We went from playing in 15 to 32 degrees and stifling heat and humidity. Of course the weather affects both clubs but it was tough to play the way we wanted to in these conditions.”
Goal scorer Dan Glazer talked about the opening day win, scoring the goal and also what it’s like training with the first team and play with the youth side:
“It’s terrific to win and especially to score a goal. We have to continue this way and this is just the beginning. Part of the thought process of playing with the youth team is to diversify my game and get more minutes along with scoring and I’m happy that exactly what happened here on Matchday One.”
About the match:
“We came back from the Chelsea game which was difficult and we worked really hard but there’s nothing better than being able to play on Wednesday and Saturday, let us play, we love it. We’re footballers and we love what we do.”
On his role of captain this season:
“I’m a bit older and it’s new for me, but there are some really good players here that pick up the game and how we play very quickly. We did some great things today and it’s important to continue this way.”
About practicing with the first team:
“Training with the first team is quite the experience. To practice with the best players in the country definitely helps me improve as everyone gives more than 100% and is especially helpful when I play on Saturday with the youth team.”
