Ashdod stunned Maccabi Haifa 2-1 as Shlomi Azulay scored the late winner to hand the port city side the shocking win and the 3-points. Ashdod grabbed a 1-0 lead just ahead of the break as Noam Muche scored from in close but the greens drew even midway in the second half when Guy Melamed headed home a Dolev Haziza ball. However, Azulay and Roie Levy’s give and go saw the former put home the winner and snatch the 3-points in front of a silent Haifa crowd at Sammy Ofer Stadium.

“I really believed, I took on this challenge because I really believe in the squad,” Ashdod Head Coach Haim Silvas said. “We had a lot of excuses to lose this game, but one good reason to win. This was a huge victory, the players deserve to celebrate and this makes them believe in themselves, but we can’t forget that we are still in the relegation zone.”

“This was a pretty typical game from us, we controlled the pace of play and we conceded too easily,” Haifa bench boss Barak Bachar. “We didn’t take advantage of momentum in the game, which is a shame. We wanted to play our best minutes just as we did in the Beer Sheva game. But now we have to just gather ourselves are prepare for the championship playoffs.”

Kiryat Shemona got by Maccabi Petach Tikva 2-0 as Christian Bella and Alfredo Stephens both scored in the second half to wrap up the win.