Beitar Jerusalem slipped by Hapoel Tel Aviv 1-0 as Yarden Shua’s first half goal stood up to the gusty rain and wind storm that filled Teddy Stadium along with close to 30,000 fans that saw the yellow-and-black remain just two points behind table leaders Hapoel Beer Sheva. Also at the game was Beitar’s newest recruit Boris Enow who arrived in the Holy Land prior to the match.

With rain pouring down onto the Teddy Stadium pitch, chances came fast and furious for both sides in the opening minutes of the game as Adi Yona’s early attempt was saved by Hapoel Tel Aviv keeper Assaf Tzur while Johnbosco Kalu’s shot went over the bar. The reds looked to have taken the lead, but Roi Alkukin’s goal was called off by the VAR as Daniel Dappa was in an offside position right in front of the Beitar Jerusalem keeper Miguel Silva.

With the yellow-and-black oozing with motivation and energy, they took advantage of their good fortunes to take a 1-0 lead as Yarden Shua put home a corner kick after having been confirmed by the VAR in the 13th minute. Hapoel don’t hang their heads for long as they went the other direction on the slick pitch as Loizos Loizou went one-on-one with Silva but the latter made a diving stop and then needed to receive medical attention for close to five minutes before the game resumed.

The reds kept pushing for the equalizer as Omri Altman’s chance from twenty meters out missed the target while Beitar then had a bevy of activity with possession in the box but couldn’t find a way to finish with attempts caroming off of defenders and the Hapoel keeper as the hosts took a 1-0 advantage into the break.

Put of halftime both sides seemed to slow down the pace just a bit as chances started to become much more difficult to find on either side of the pitch, however, the goal scorer Yarden Shua was subbed off in place of speedster Timoti Muzie who immediately injected new life into the game as his cross just missed the intended address. Next up was Omer Atzily with a pair of terrific chances that went out for corners while Grigori Morozov’s attempt was taken care of by Tzur as the match hit the 70th minute.

Ziv Ben Shimol who came on as a substitute had his chance gobbled up Tzur while Kalu who stripped the ball off a Hapoel defender had his low liner also saved by the Reds shot stopper. Elyaniv Barda’s players then started pushing as time wound down but time and time again the Beitar defense stood strong while Silva made the necessary stops.

With seven minutes of injury time added, Hapoel still had life as Roy Korine went flying in on goal but Yarden Cohen came from out of nowhere’s to knock the ball out of harm’s way as Silva was out of place, while Anas Mahamid was issued a red card for a reckless foul on Gil Cohen as the match came to an end.

Beitar Jerusalem Head Coach Barak Itzhaki reflected in the win, “It’s true that the game wasn’t played at the highest level, but there was plenty of interesting game play throughout the 90 minutes and ultimately you need to know how to win these games. We are always maturing as a team and there are games when the ball goes in more than others.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda spoke about the loss, “We’re disappointed, it was a very good game and we had some great chances. Plus there was the goal that was called offside. The second half we didn’t begin as well but we really got back into the game but Beitar’s quality is what decided the match. We’ve had trouble winning away from home and that continued here.”

Yellow-and-black captain Yarden Shua spoke about the win, “I’m happy that we didn’t concede and we played very well defensively, we could have scored more but we’ll take the win. It’s a lot of fun to beat a team like Hapoel Tel Aviv especially with Beitar and everyone played a part in this victory.”