Maccabi Haifa Stuns Fans by Defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv
In recent news, Maccabi Haifa emerged victorious when it beat Maccabi Tel Aviv with a score of 3-2. The Greens enthusiastically scored three goals that went unanswered in the last quarter-hour alone. This allowed them to gain three points and maintain their pace with Hapoel Beersheba, which is at the top of the table. This latest victory by Haifa, at the Sammy Ofer Stadium, was its first win in league play over its opponents in yellow and blue in over five years. The Greens have been unable to emerge victorious in more than 16 matches consecutively. The Tel Aviv team, being coached by Mladen Krstajic, made sure to dominate the squad belonging to Barak Bachar in the very first minute of the game.
This was made possible by Eduardo Guerrero, who took a corner kick and send the ball off into the box. Consequently, it was headed by the popular favorite, Dolev Haziza, right behind Josh Cohen, the team’s keeper, securing a lead of 1-0. Just 15 minutes afterward, Eden Shamir managed to double the advantage that Mac TA had by sending a gorgeous ball into the Mac Haifa goal, while he stood 20 meters away. Experts speculated that a goal like this was surely going to make Shamir a candidate for the goal-of-the-season.
Moving forwards, the pace of the game was controlled primarily by yellow-and-blue. The entire face of the game changed only when Bachar sent in Godsway Donyoh inside at the 71st minute. After five whole minutes of playing, Donyoh kicked a beautiful through-ball to his teammate, Tjaron Chery. The latter went on to beat the keeper of Mac TA, Daniel Peretz, and cut the opposition’s lead in half at 2-1. Only a couple of minutes later, the talented Donyoh struck again and went on to equalize the game by slamming home a pass he received from Omer Atzili. At the 79th minute, the two teams were standing at a draw.
Mac Haifa continued to press for it victory and managed to emerge as the winner, primarily due to the goalmouth pass sent by Atzili at the 87th minute. Dean David intercepted his teammate’s pass and scored the goal from nearby, stunning the yellow-and-blue, as well as all the fans watching. Soon after the clash, Bachar took to giving a speech regarding the game, saying that it had been tough. He admitted that the team had felt under pressure due to the goals scored by the opposition early in the game. He recalled that at halftime, he had told his team to relax and just carry on doing whatever it is that they normally do on the pitch.
According to the coach, he motivated his squad to play with enthusiasm, which could allow them to make a comeback and perhaps, secure a win. Bachar admitted that the team had been facing a deficit for most of the season and it put Haifa under pressure quite easily. But he praised the efforts of his team, who managed to pull it together and score some beautiful goals.
