Hapoel Beer Sheva hoisted the Israel State Cup to the delight of the fans who celebrated through the night in the nation’s capital after the southern reds defeated Maccabi Haifa 2-2 (3-1 on penalties) to capture their second cup in three years.

Close to 30,000 fans were treated to a highly entertaining 90 minutes of regulation time plus a 30 minute extra-time session that featured end to end action as Elyaniv Barda’s squad went on to win in a penalty shootout thanks to three saves by keeper Omri Glazer who stole the show literally and figuratively.

With the victory, Beer Sheva denied Barak Bachar’s club a chance to win all of the available Israeli titles after having just celebrated winning the Premier League crown this past weekend.

Beer Sheva struck first as Ramzi Safouri opened the scoring but an Omer Atzily penalty drew Haifa even at 1-1. Rotem Hatuel helped the reds retake the lead, however, a Miguel Vitor own goal late in the game sent the matchup into extra time and eventually to the dramatic penalty shootout.

Omri Glazer who had previously played five seasons with the Greens, came back to haunt his former club as he stymied Dolev Haziza, Godsway Donyoh and Mavis Tchibota to snatch the State Cup with the help of spot kick goals by Tomer Yosefi, Eyad Abu Abid and Helder Lopes.

There had been much discussion prior to the game as to who would start in goal for Maccabi Haifa as first choice keeper Josh Cohen was questionable after not having played in weeks due to a shoulder injury.

However, he was listed in the starting lineup an hour before the game was due to begin but failed a fitness test and was replaced by rarely used third choice keeper Roie Fuchs after Cohen’s backup Roie Mishpati had been injured in the greens final match of the season.

But it would be Beer Sheva’s keeper Omri Glazer who would steal the show at the end of the game with a trio of saves during the penalty shootout.

“It was a very tough game,” the man of the match Omri Glazer said. “The game went back and forth but we are a bunch of warriors and I came in prepared for the penalty shootout as we made sure to look for their weaknesses. I was able to do just that and prevented them from scoring in the penalty shoot out. I always worked hard and believed in my abilities and now we have to keep working as we prepare for next season. I think we proved to everyone that we are one of the top teams in the country.”

“It’s so exciting,” Beer Sheva coach Elyaniv Barda exclaimed. “I was thrown into the deep end when I took over as coach in the middle of the season. Beer Sheva is my home and I couldn’t refuse. Everything was new for me as a coach after playing for so many years and I realized that I was working with a group of the most amazing people who surrounded me. I learnt a tremendous amount from Barak Bachar who was my coach.”

“You have to also know how to lose,” Haifa coach Barak Bachar explained following the game. “We played an excellent team and they deserved a lot of congratulations. They are a strong team and I have to credit them for winning in penalties. The game was very close and the 2-2 score at the end of regulation time reflected that. At the end of the day they deserved the win. It was almost a historic season for us with three domestic titles and we did the maximum, but in sports you may lose as well.”

Ramzi Safouri who was questionable going into the game and scored Beer Sheva’s first goal of the game said that nothing was going to keep him from missing out on playing in the State Cup final, “I told the staff that I was not going to sit on the sidelines and I wanted to play which is what I did. Many people didn’t believe in us and they did in Haifa much more, but we didn’t give up and we came into the game with a lot of belief.”

The game got off to a super hot start as fans from both teams tossed flares onto the Teddy Stadium pitch as they lit up the field of play foreshadowing the exciting action that the players would provide. Hapoel Beer Sheva would strike first as Ramzi Safari slotted home a terrific cross by Eugene Ansah who streaked down the right side of the field to give the southerners a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute.

The Greens came out flying in the second half as they searched for a goal and Omer Atziliy did just that when he scored via a penalty after Eyad Abu Abid committed a foul in the box to give Maccabi Haifa the equalizer and even up the score at 1-1 in the 55th minute. Elyaniv Barda’s squad would retake the lead a quarter hour later when Danilo Asprilla sent a perfect free kick from the left side right onto the head of Rotem Hatuel who nodded the ball behind keeper Roie Fuchs to go up 2-1.

However, as time neared the final whistle, Beer Sheva defender Miguel Vitor accidentally headed the ball into his own goal to give Barak Bachar’s squad the tying marker to send the contest into extra time. Both teams danced around the pitch in the thirty minute extra session offering very little offense as the game went to a penalty shoot out where Beer Sheva keeper Glazer made a trio of stops to take the cup back down to the southern capital.