Hapoel Beer Sheva blanked Ironi Tiberias 2-0 as Joao Victor and Amankwah Forson both scored in the second half to keep pace with table leaders Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Beer Sheva Head Coach Ran Kozuk said after the game, “There was a lack of intelligence on our part in the closing minutes. The first half unfolded as it did. Tiberias created one chance on the counterattack and after the halftime substitutions, they started playing with runs and creating chaos. They have the players to do that and they did it well. Instead of using our strengths, we played into their approach, which created a lot of space for them. That was a lack of intelligence. We didn’t use our advantages, but we will learn from this.”

Tiberias bench boss Alon Ziv shared his thoughts on the loss, “It’s very disappointing. We came into the game as prepared as possible to face a team like Hapoel Beer Sheva, knowing we had to make as few mistakes as possible. We also managed to limit them to very few chances. Even after conceding, we responded well and fought our way back into the game, but the feeling is still one of disappointment.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv cruised past Kiryat Shemona 3-1 as the Reds stayed close to the top of the table with the victory. Douglas Owusu opened the scoring with a gorgeous blast from inside of the box while Emmanuel Boateng doubled the advantage when he scored off an error by the keeper early on in the second half. Omri Altman then laced home a beautiful free kick just minutes later while Amadou Sanga broke up the clean sheet with a 90th minute penalty.

“We started the game very well, but after 20 minutes, Kiryat Shmona made a change that we didn’t deal with properly,” Hapoel Head Coach Elyanbiv Barda began. “We made some poor decisions and gave the ball away cheaply. We started the second half brilliantly and scored two good goals. The substitutes who came on didn’t perform as well as I expected, and we weren’t able to kill the game off. When I make substitutions, I expect the team’s interests to come before individual ones. Here, I felt that everyone wanted to score. Next time, the substitutes need to come on and perform better.”

Kiryat Shemona Head Coach Shai Barda summed up the loss, “Football is ultimately measured by goals. We played against a team that is much more talented than we are. We missed chances in the first half and were punished twice for mistakes we made. We aren’t picking up enough points and we need to fix that because we don’t have much time. I will do everything I can to get this team out of its current situation. The responsibility is mine. There is a recurring naivety that keeps showing up week after week. I’m the team’s coach, that’s my job and we will address it.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bnei Sakhnin played to a goalless draw at Bloomfield Stadium as the yellow-and-blue dropped their first points of the season but still remain in first place ahead of defending champions Hapoel Beer Sheva and Hapoel Tel Aviv by 3-points.

“If we played this game 10 times, we would win nine of them, maybe even nine and a half,” a disappointed Maccabi Head Coach Kenny Miller said. “It was a frustrating night. We created chances, whether through Dor Peretz or Sagiv Yehezkel and even if I had been on the pitch, it wouldn’t have made a difference. It was one of those nights when the ball simply wouldn’t go in.”

Sakhnin bench boss Yossi Abuksis was upset by how the Maccabi fans taunted him for the entire contest, “They cursed me throughout the entire game. The abuse directed at me during the game was very harsh and you didn’t see all of it. It’s a shame you couldn’t hear what was being said above me insults that were worse than the word I used toward them.”

Hapoel Haifa slipped by Maccabi Petach Tikva 2-1 as Sal Pahima’s second half injury time goal handed the Carmel Reds the win and the 3-points. Alon Turgeman opened the scoring early on for the hosts but Guy Amos drew the visitors even in the 70th minute. However, 21-year old Sal Pahima’s volley from the top of the box handed Haim Silvas’s side the points.

Haifa bench boss Haim Silvas spoke about the win, “It was a dramatic and enjoyable victory, one that showed character. We deserved to win and we’re continuing to win and that makes us happy but I could feel how fragile the game was when the score was 1-1 and we could have lost points. But I’m happy that Sali Pahima, who has looked good in training matches, found the back of the goal.”

Petach Tikva Head Coach Ziv Arie said, “The game was played at a low intensity by both teams. We looked tired and sluggish. This is the fourth time in five games that we have conceded in the opening minutes. We had to chase the game, which was difficult. There were some poor spells, but we had a point in our hands. We were naive, but we move on.”

Hapoel Petach Tikva and Maccabi Netanya played to a 1-1 draw in a spirited affair that saw Roie David score off of a Stav Israeli through ball to give the hosts the lead but a 90th minute penalty by Maor Levi leveled the score and split the points. There was some controversy near the end of the game as there were 12 Petach Tikva players on the pitch during Levi’s spot kick due to confusion in substitutions that were made.

Omer Peretz addressed the incident, “When a substitution is made, each player is allowed 10 seconds to leave the pitch. We made three substitutions in the closing minutes and the referee restarted the game after 25 seconds without giving us the time we needed to get the players off the field. Instead of giving us an extra second or two, we were made to lose five seconds during a substitution and that’s a lot of time.”

Maccabi Netanya coach Roni Levi shared his feelings after the game, “If we can get the players into the right places and make sure they are prepared and ready for the game, then I think the team came in very well prepared, despite all the frustration. The crowd was truly amazing and the atmosphere was incredible. If I were a player, I would make things happen. But it was difficult and we just couldn’t score other than the penalty.”