Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Beer Sheva played to a 1-1 draw as Yarden Shua gave the hosts a 1-0 lead late in the game, but Kings Kangwa found the equalizer just minutes later as both sides took a point for their efforts at Teddy Stadium. The draw kept the southern reds two-points in front of the yellow-and-black as the former will play at Hapoel Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon and the latter will visit Maccabi Tel Aviv on Saturday night as both teams have three matches remaining in the season.

Roughly a minute into the match and Helder Lopes was substituted off due to an injury and replaced by Matan Baltaxa for Beer Sheva who produced the first chance of the game off a Muhamed Abu Romi cross but his attempt from in close went out. Amir Ganach’s long shot went wide off a break while Kangwa’s free kick to Baltaxa was headed over the bar.

Beitar also needed to make an early change as Nana Antwi hobbled off the pitch and Roie Elimelech who had not played in a few months came on. Both sides tried to create opportunities with very little substance, Kangwa fed Ganach but his attempt just went wide left of the goal, while Ziv Ben Shimol and Omer Atzily’s opportunities came up short as the match hit the break goalless.

Beer Sheva continued to control the pace of play as the second half got underway as Guy Mizrachi’s chance was just pawed to safety by keeper Miguel Silva, Kangwa’s chip shot was caught by the shot stopper while Kangwa’s scorcher went flying over the goal in the 60th minute. Timoti Muzie came in for an ineffective Yarin Levy.

As Ron Kozuk’s team continued to press, Shua stole the ball at the midfield, broke down the field and sent Atzily a perfect pass in the box but he skied his attempt over the bar. Muzie’s attempt on target was caught by Marciano as Barak Itzhaki’s team began to push forward to find a marker.

An unmarked Shua took a marvelous pass at the top of the box from Muzie and sent a blistering strike past a helpless Marciano to give Beitar a 1-0 lead in the 78th minute. Beer Sheva immediately made a triple substitution as Miguel Vitor, Roie Levy, Shai Elias all came on to make an impact and they did so within minutes.

Luka Gadrani couldn’t tie up Kangwa inside of the area and Beitar paid for it dearly when the striker found the equalizer to draw Beer Sheva even at 1-1 in the 81st minute. As time ticked down the visitors had a couple of chances off corner kicks but couldn’t convert as the sides took a point a piece.

“We’re disappointed” Beitar Jerusalem Head Coach Barak Itzhaki began. “These were difficult halves from a football standpoint, it wasn’t a great football match, but there were chances for both sides. We didn’t manage to score the goal earlier and after we did we needed to know how to protect the lead. They were waiting for the game to end; we wanted to push forward. Obviously we should have won, it would have given us a huge boost. But to tell the truth, it was a tough game. We had already scored, but unfortunately we didn’t hold on to it. In games like these, even when the football isn’t great, you need to know how to win. We were there, and we lost it.”

“At the end of the day, it’s a good result, especially after going behind,” Beer Sheva Head Coach Ron Kozuk’s said. “It keeps things in our hands and we’re grateful for that. The players raised their level after Beitar took the lead and this was one heck of a battle. We played well. We came into a situation like this at Teddy Stadium, with the crowd here being amazing together with our own fans, a very intense atmosphere and a huge responsibility on the players and we showed our football, especially in the first half.”

Beitar captain Yarden Shua spoke about the result, “We scored and we were in first for the moment but there was a mistake on the pitch and that was it. Things are still in our hands and we can have a number of games left in the season despite being in second place. It’s very difficult to play every few days but this is what it is and everyone is in the same situation. I still believe that we will finish in first place.”

Beer Sheva keeper Ofir Marciano looked back at the draw, “The match is ninety minutes long and we conceded late but you can see our body language and we felt that we could do it and respond. We focused on ourselves and we knew what we needed to do in this situation.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv slipped past Hapoel Petach Tikva 1-0 on a Mor Buskila goal in the 74th minute to hand the reds the 3-points, the win and a place in European qualification this summer.

“This is a step along the way,” Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda began. “Our ambitions don’t stop, we want to bring this club back to its glory days. It’s an excellent achievement in our first year back at the top level, to secure European qualification with three rounds still to go. If you had told me that at the start of the season, I wouldn’t have believed it, but there are guys here who work hard and want to succeed. Reaching the group stage in Europe would be an achievement. The direction is a positive one.”

Petach Tikva Head Coach Omer Peretz shared his thoughts, “We showed good energy. We played a good game, not many teams come to Bloomfield and manage to create that many chances. We conceded an unnecessary goal but we can come away with reasons to be optimistic going forward. We know that in football, nothing is deserved automatically. We should have taken that point as we were worthy of it, but unfortunately we missed out.”