Beitar Jerusalem got by Ashdod 3-2 after the port city side had been reduced to ten-men as the yellow-and-black notched the win and took home the 3-points. Shachar Rosen was issued a straight red card in the 20th minute to reduce the visitors to 10 players for the majority of the game that Beitar was ready to take advantage of. As Barak Itzhaki’s squad pressed for a marker they finally broke through in first half injury time as Patrick Twumasi’s attempt skipped through keeper Ariel Harush’s legs and into the goal to hand Beitar a 1-0 advantage just ahead of the half-time break.

Timoti Muzi doubled the advantage just minutes into the second half as he finished off a nice team play that involved Yarden Shua and Adi Yona, but a Grogori Morozov now goal in the 59th minute cut the Beitar lead to 2-1. A give and go between Dor Micha and Silva Kangani allowed the hosts to regain the two-goal lead, but once again yet another own goal by Morozov in the 85th minute closed the gap to 3-2, however that would be as close as Ashdod would get as Beitar secured the 3-points in a thriller.

“This game was an open invitation for us after Ashdod was issued a red so early in the contest,” Itzhaki began. “We were not able to move the ball properly and while our quality wasn’t at its best since it’s the start of the season, it is very, very important to win the first game and show that we are a winning team. We didn’t look great near the end of the game, but that is normal for this time of year. We are already being crowned champions by some, we really need some type of proportion here and we will have to work very hard to play even better later on in the campaign. We are just at the beginning of the season, there are things that need to be improved and I am happy that I we will be able to do that with three points in my back pocket.”

“It is not my nature to say that this just wasn’t our night,” Ashdod coach Eli Levy said. “No matter how many players we have on the pitch and whatever happens I will always believe that we have a chance. Even if we defended better we knew that Beitar would be tough to handle and we did our best. I’m so proud of the guys, it’s an unpleasant feeling to lose, but I’m proud of the guys and I have someone to go forward with in the future.”