Hapoel Beer Sheva and Maccabi Bnei Reineh drew 1-1 in an entertaining matchup down south. After a scoreless first half, Antonio Sefer found the back of the goal in the 65th minute but late in the match Amir Ganah was handed his second yellow card and sent off leaving the hosts with 10-men while holding onto the lead. However, Ibrahim Genaim found the equalizer in second half injury time to draw even and snatch a point just before the final whistle was sounded.
“We knew this was going to be a very tough and intense game,” Beer Sheva Heda Coach Ron Kozuk said. “At halftime we spoke about going back to our basics in order to score a goal which we did but that red card sent us reeling as we had kept Reineh at bay for the entire match until they finally scored.”
“We showed both character and our ability in order to take a point in this game,” Reineh Head Coach Sharon Mimer said. “We came into this matchup and we knew that this was one of the toughest places to play if not the toughest of them all. Beer Sheva had trouble creating chances but we ended up giving up a goal. However, we showed so much character for the entire game and came out with a point.”
Hapoel Jerusalem blanked Ironi Tiberias 2-0 in a game that had no fans up north by the Kineret due to the Home Front Command regulations. The capital city reds grabbed a 1-0 lead as Ibeh Ransom scored in the 33rd minute to head into the break in front by a goal. The hosts had a chance to draw even in the 89th minute via a penalty due to a handball in the box, but Stanislav Bilenkyi’s spot kick was saved by Jerusalem keeper Nadav Zamir. However, Ben Vehaba raced for the rebound and committed a reckless foul on the shot stopper and was issued a red card leaving Tiberias with ten players that Hapoel took advantage of a few minutes later when Cedric Don scored to wrap up the win.
“I expected a game where Tiberias was going to pack it in and just counter,” Jerusalem bench boss Ziv Arie began. “But in fact they were very dangerous on their attacks. It took us time for us to find the correct balance on defense and we also needed to be sharper on offense. Nadav Zamir really saved us against a team that has played very well this season. This was a very important win.”
“We had a decent second half and had some chances,” Tiberias coach Eliran Hodeda explained. “We deserved at least a point but now we have to look ahead. We will deal with the loss and continue on. We needed to be better on offense and we need to score first.”
Kiryat Shemona defeated Bnei Sakhnin 2-1 to take the 3-points and the win. Alfredo Stephens gave the northeners the lead in the 11th minute but ten minutes later Constantinos Soteriou drew Sakhnin even until Roie Zikri found the winning goal with a quarter hour left in the contest.
“These 3-points were super important for us due to the situation we are in,” Kiryat Shemona coach Shay Barda said. “The second half wasn’t as good as the first was despite us deciding the game in the 75th minute. We had 5-6 chances in the first half that should have been 100% goals. I am proud of the guys and I believe in them. I am happy as to how we are progressing.”
“We were never in this game and should have taken at least a point,” Sakhnin coach Slobodan Drapic said. “We need to still jell together as we made too many mistakes and lost this game. We need to make some corrections and become a better team.”
Ashdod and Maccabi Petach Tikva played to a goalless draw as the Port City side’s Tom Ben Zaken was issued a 14th minute red card for a reckless tackle on Yarden Cohen but the visitors were not able to take advantage of the extra man as each team took a point.
“I have mixed feelings,” Ashdod Head Coach Eli Levy said. “Both because we played more than 75 minutes down a man and I can also take some good things out of the game. The guys really showed a ton of pride and the way they came into the game was exactly what we needed after a number of weeks where we did not. We were aggressive and showed intensity with ten players and the fact that we didn’t concede a goal is something we can be very proud of.”
“I have a bitter taste in my mouth after this game,” Petach Tikva bench boss Dan Roman began. “We needed to play differently due to the situation where we were up against inly ten players. We needed to be dominant and we were just frustrated and pressured which meant we didn’t create enough chances. At least we earned a point.”
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