Beitar Jerusalem thumped Maccabi Petach Tikva 5-0 as both Gil Cohen and Mayron George scored first half braces to close out the game early and take the points and the victory. The hosts grabbed a quick lead in the 7th minute when Yarden Shua’s free kick found Cohen who headed home the opening goal while just one minute later Mayron George doubled the advantage. Cohen scored again in the 12th minute and four minutes later, Mayron did as well t go up 4-0. Ayi Kangani added the yellow-and-black’s 5th goal just ahead of the break as Barak Itzhaki’s team caused to the victory.

“This was really fun, the first half was great, I don’t remember when it was 5-0 here at halftime,” Beitar bench boss Barak Itzhaki said. “In the second half we took our foot off the gas a little, even though Maccabi Petah Tikva dropped back. We moved the ball properly and I don’t remember any situations that they created.”

“At first we tried to press high, we made a mistake or two and were punished,” Petach Tikva Head Coach Dan Roman began. ‘We couldn’t stop the momentum and when things go like that, everyone’s confidence drops. Obviously the feelings are very, very bad, you want to help the team. We have to work on some mental aspects as well as tactics to create stability.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva downed Maccabi Haifa 2-0 thanks to a pair of second half goals by Kings Kangwa and Eliel Peretz to give the southern reds the points at Sammy Ofer Stadium.

“I’m all smiles inside of my heart,” Beer Sheva Head Coach Ron Kozuk said. “The goal from the beginning of the season is to continue to improve and we hadn’t faced an opponent of this quality up until now which was a good test. We are learning and progressing, slowly but surely the players are developing and bringing what we are learning onto the field. There really is a group of very high-quality players here, they deserve a huge shout-out for their display in this game.”

“I think it was an even game,” Greens coach Barak Bachar said. “In the first half we pressed well and felt that the last touch was missing. We were unable to punish Beer Sheva’s mistakes and at the end of the day, we conceded a corner kick in the second half and we weren’t focused. From the moment we conceded the first goal, we didn’t play properly and we deserved to lose.”

Kiryat Shemona blanked Hapoel Jerusalem 2-0 as Lidor Cohen scored early while Jardel found the back of the goal late to give the northerners the 3-points and the win.

“We won the game and I am the happiest person around,” Kiryat Shemona head coach Shay Barda said. “We gave a lot of heart but didn’t play much football. Sometimes during the season you have to take these type of points and I’m not intending to apologize for that. It’s great fun to coach these players.”

“We knew there would be a problem here after the energy from the derby,” Reds coach Ziv Arie said. “We gave up an early goal and then we had to chase after them the entire game. We wanted the points, but starting like that after two minutes did us no favors. This isn’t the first time we’ve done this and I have no explanation for it. We don’t have enough points and the loss makes our situation worse.”