Maccabi Tel Aviv eased past Hapoel Haifa 4-1 as four different goal scorers found the back of the net for the yellow-and-blue who took the 3-points in style. In a game that took place in the shadow of a large missile attack by Iran in Haifa that left a lot of destruction and people who are still unaccounted for, Maccabi got busy early as Dor Peretz beat his former teammate Yoav Gerafi in the 27th minute for a 1-0 lead while Ido Shahar and Osher Davida also scored before halftime to give the yellow-and-blue a 3-0 lead at the break. Alon Turgeman pulled a goal back early on in the second half, but Helio Varela made sure to put the game away with a goal of his own to polish off the win.

“It’s been a difficult month for everybody and my best to those effected in Haifa,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Ronny Deila began. “We played an amazing fifth half, the guys moved the ball so good and we moved with rhythm and we pressed them back all of the time. The second half we had some trouble and we have to work on things when the other team switches systems.”

“We had a tough day in the city and we want to send our best to all those who were effected by the missile attacks,” Hapoel Haifa Head Coach Haim Silvas said. “We knew the type of game it was going to be and every time Maccabi got close to the box they knew how to take advantage of the opportunity and we just couldn’t find a way to stop them.”

Maccabi Netanya defeated Ashdod 3-2 as Basam Zarura recorded a brace and scored the winning goal as the diamond city side came bak from a two-goal deficit to snatch the 3-points at the port city. The hosts got off to a fast start as Karim Kimvuidi slotted home an Arial Mendy pass while the aforementioned Mendy doubled the lead in the 28th minute. However, Netanya Head Coach Roni Levy made a pair of substitutions in the 30th minute that flipped the match upside down from that point on.

Maor Levy fired a screamer past Karol Niemczycki in the 40th minute while Zarura scored his first of the game just ahead of the break to send the contest into halftime all knotted up at 2-2. As the match headed towards second half injury time, Zarura scored his second of the game off a brilliant pass by Pedrinho to hand Netanya the win.

Netanya bench boss Roni Levy spoke about the match, “We didn’t show up to the game. Maybe the trauma from the last match affected us. Ashdod were excellent at the start and as the game went on we improved. The goal we scored gave us the chance to believe. In the second half we were much better tactically, we believed we could win.”

Ashdod Head Coach Avi Avinu said, “I don’t have the answers to why we lost right now. At the start of the game, the plan worked perfectly and we were in complete control. Instead of maintaining that after we conceded the first goal, we let in the equalizer. When we pressed high, we got caught in transition.”