Beitar heads into the Jerusalem Derby against Hapoel on Sunday night at Teddy Stadium (20:00) with a chance to finish the regular season in first place. While the capital city Reds have been Barak Itzhaki’s black sheep so to speak as the yellow-and-black bench boss has yet to find a way to come out on top of the city rivals, this time around he’s got a secret weapon, a rocket.

That rocket is Nana Antwi.

Antwi arrived at Beitar during the most recent winter transfer window and has been exactly what the doctor had ordered for Itzhaki and his side. The natural right back has been a fabulous addition to the club after joining the club from the Romanian league where he featured for FC Hermannstadt on loan from Fotbal Club FCSB or better known as FC Steaua București.

The 25-year old Ghana native has played in a number of leagues and not only has an impressive physical presence but also tremendous athletic ability with speed being one of his main assets when playing along the flanks. Antwi earned the nickname, the rocket, from Gigi Becali the owner of FCSB as he saw how quick and speedy the defensive back was.

Antwi has moved up the ranks in his professional career with Beitar being the latest stop among a variety of teams that he has featured for. The first stop was Armenian outfit Lori where he was discovered by scouts from Lille in France as he made ten appearances for the “B” team as part of the club’s academy squad at the age of 19 but quickly returned to Armenia after not gaining minutes that he had hoped for.

From there it was off to Urartu for two-and-a half seasons in which he made 86 appearances across all competitions as he was part of a team that lost the Cup final in his first before winning a domestic double in the second campaign. In his third year with the club, Antwi played in UEFA Champions League qualifiers and scored in an Europa Conference League qualifying match before moving to FCSB for 100,000 Euros.

At FCSB, Antwi never was able to get things going the way he would have liked and ended up heading to Hermannstadt on loan where he made 51 appearances over a season and a half but had his loan cut short when Beitar came calling FCSB who bought the defensive back for 200,000 Euros and inked a two year deal with an option for a third with the yellow-and-black.

Since pulling on the Beitar kit, Antwi has been no less than stellar for Itzhaki’s squad. While he can play a number of positions on both flanks Antwi’s preferred spot is playing as an attacking right defensive back, his natural place he said ahead of the Derby.

The fact that Antwi can play a number of positions and is flexible is a huge bonus for Itzhaki who in some cases switches up formations during the match itself.

“I like players who can play in multiple positions, flexible ones who can adapt quickly. I change formations, with or without substitutions,” the Beitar bench boss said.

The fact that a player like Antwi is capable of playing in a variety of places is only part of what the Ghanian brings to the table Itzhaki explained, “I think Nana Antwi has brought us a lot of energy. He’s a fast player who knows how to move the ball forward quickly. He can create space for us whether he cuts inside or plays along the wing. These are things we use in our game plan. I’m satisfied so far. To keep it going, like everyone else, he needs to keep pushing himself.”

Although Antwi has only played in three games with Beitar, it feels as if he has become a stalwart in the lineup and has been a part of the team for much longer than that. Perhaps that is due to the war with Iran that saw all of the players stay with the club during the 40 day conflict as the team held a mini-training camp for part of the time in Eilat that allowed the players to become closer to one another.

“It was very tough for me as I’ve never been in this type of situation before, but my teammates were great with me and things are now fine. I’m ok here,” Antwi said.

Beitar will be able to use Antwi’s skillset to their advantage especially as an attacking team. Between his dribbles which average 2.62 per game with an over 50% success rate are key in when the team plays in transition while he is able to also go make the defense work harder and open up space for his teammates on offense.

All in all the move for Antwi is a good one as he went from a team that was in a deep relegation battle to a club that is competing for the top of the table. Former Beitar midfielder Aviel Zargari joined Hermannstadt just prior to Antwi leaving but was there just in time to help sway any fears that he may have coming to the Holy Land.

Since his arrival Antwi feels that the level of play in Israel is higher than that of Romania and yet another positive aspect is the fact he hasn’t yet played in a Derby. Maybe that will be the missing ingredient for Itzhaki to finally take care of his first win over Hapoel Jerusalem.

“It’s my first time playing a Derby and it’s an important game for us. We need to win the game to be at the top, we need three points,” Antwi concluded.