Beitar blanked Hapoel 2-0 to take the Jerusalem Derby and paint the city yellow-and-black as a pair of first half goals by Gonzalez and Omer Atzily helped Barak Itzhaki’s squad take the 3-points and the win.

Beitar broke the ice early as Gonzalez beat keeper Nadav Zamir 30 seconds into the match thanks to a magnificent ball from Omer Atzily on the right flank for a 1-0 lead. Both teams traded chances as Atzily’s attempt went just wide right of the goal while Marko Rakonjac did the same at the other end of the pitch. Gonzalez almost had his second of the game but his header off an Atzily corner kick was caught by Zamir but the next time down the pitch Atzily scored off a marvelous curler for a 2-0 lead at the break.

Boris Enow launched a scorcher from outside of the box that missed the mark, Johnbosco Kalu missed a wide open goal off an Atzily cross, while Dor Hugi’s header went over the bar. Beitar kept pushing forward as Gonzalez missed from in close, Ohad Almagor had a chance at the other end but his weak attempt was easily gobbled up by keeper Miguel Silva while at the other end Atzily’s chip shot just went over the goal. Atzily’s long range strike was pawed to safety by Zamir, while his chance in the box was also saved as the yellow-and-black wrapped up the victory.

Beitar Jerusalem Head Coach Barak Itzhaki spoke about the win, “When you score so quickly as we did, the players gain a tremendous amount of confidence and we started creating more chances right after that. I was very happy with how we played this game as we came in with a game plan that had various different players extremely active on the pitch. It was a long time since we won a Derby and we did it in style. We are coming into money time and every one of the ten games coming up are important. We have to be ready.”

Hapoel Jerusalem Head Coach Ziv Arie summed up the defeat, “We didn’t start the game well and it’s not the first time we gave up a goal so early on in the game, but we had many very good minutes as we have had in previous matches. We created chances just as many as Beitar did. We will be under pressure going forward.”

Ziv Ben Shimol talked about the victory, “It’s a a lot of fun to be able to score so quickly and it really was great for us as it helped us push forward with our creativity very freely from the get go. As for playing in a position that I normally don’t, I’ll do whatever Barak will tell me to do and I was doing plenty of work with the ball as well as without it. It was really exciting to have all of the fans with us here in this game.”

Nadav Zamir reflected on the loss, “It’s very hard to concede a goal so early in the game but we had to make a switch right after the goal as quickly as possible to put it behind us and move ahead. I’m trying to do the best I can each and every game to help the team. There’s no question that we will stay in the league and we deserve to as well.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva outlasted Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-1 as Kings Kangwa scored a second half brace to hand the southern reds the 3-points and the win that helped Ron Kozuk’s team end the regular season in first place. Eliel Peretz opened the scoring with a 28th minute header but Sayed Abu Farhi found the equalizer from the penalty spot in the 56th minute but just seconds later Kangwa scored his first of the match. An active Kangwa slotted home his second goal in second half injury time as he latched onto the ball at midfield and went in all alone to beat keeper Ofek Melika and wrap up the victory.

Hapoel Beer Sheva Head Coach Ran Kozuk spoke about the win, “We understand what a strong team we are. We know this season is a marathon and in a marathon there are moments that aren’t as good with some weaker stretches. We don’t get stressed by challenging moments, we embrace them, accept them and know that they’re part of our journey.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Roni Deila was disappointed with the result, “We simply weren’t good enough when we had the ball. On an individual level, the players didn’t come close to their usual standard. It seemed like we were afraid of the occasion, we couldn’t cope with the pressure and intensity that this match required. We didn’t perform at the level a team needs to show in a game like this.”

Maccabi Haifa overwhelmed Kiryat Shemona 4-1 as Guy Melamed scored a brace off the bench for the Greens in the win. Eitan Azulay slotted home the first goal as he polished off a fabulous team attack for a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute. Guy Melamed the replaced an inured Silva Kani and doubled the advantage off a rebound in the 30th minute but Adrián Ugarriza quickly cut the lead to 2-1. However, Manuel Benson made sure to send Haifa into the break with a two goal, 3-1 lead at halftime. Melamed scored his second of the game via an 80th minute header to close out the victory.

Haifa bench boss Barak Bachar spoke about the win, “We knew coming into this game that we had lost our last two games both of which we shouldn’t have but we came up short on the little details. We created chances in this game but our second half wasn’t as good although we knew how to control the tempo and score the fourth goal to finish the game properly.”

Kiryat Shemona Head Coach Shay Barda reflected on the loss, “We didn’t show up in the first half without the intensity that is part of our usual character. We changed how we press and it just didn’t work well. I don’t remember such a bad half hour like the what we had in teh first half.”