Beitar Jerusalem 0-3 Hapoel Beer Sheva

Hapoel Beer Sheva went down to 10 men in the 1st half after Roie Gordana saw red, but it didn’t matter to the visitors and the almost 5000 supporters that made the long trek to Jerusalem for the match. When you have a player in the likes of Maor Bozaglo it certainly doesn’t matter especially when arguably the 2nd best player behind Eran Zahavi scores a brace and sets up a William Suarez goal off of a corner kick. It was quite amazing that even down a man Beer Sheva was able to break Bozaglo free and have him score a terrific breakaway goal to shock the hosts and set the table for Elisha Levy’s team to pick up all three points and leave Beitar Jerusalem just shaking their heads in disbelief. On the other side, Beitar manager Menachem Koretzky couldn’t seem to find the right mix as his club continues to struggle to find some offense. Beer Sheva remains in 3rd place with 28 points just behind Maccabi Tel Aviv with 30 pts and Kiryat Shemona leadign the way with 32 points.

Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-0 Maccabi Petach Tikva

Eran Zahavi scored yet another goal, his 35th of the calendar year and he has now also scored in 17 straight league games leading Maccabi to a dominating win over an over matched Petach Tikva squad. Tal Ben Chaim added a brace as Dor Micha picked up his 8th assist of the year leaving MPT coach Ran Ben Shimon scratching his head once again losing to the club he once managed. The win still leaves Tel Aviv 2 points behind leader Kiryat Shemona after 14 matches this season.

Kiryat Shemona 1-0 Ashdod

Table leaders Kiryat Shemona took another 3 points as they begin the 2nd round of 13 games in style at home winning 1-0. Both sides didn’t provide much offense but Mizrachi’s ball into the box was put into the goal by Ahed Abed hop the northern club to the victory.

Bnei Sakhnin 1-1 Maccabi Haifa

Bnei Sakhnin stole a point at home tying up the match in the 90th minute on a Milan Boyovic goal after a poor defensive clearing by Maccabi Haifa. After a scoreless first half Haifa finally broke through as Iden Chocolic slammed in a Yossi Benayoun pass from inside the box beating second choice ‘keeper Ran Kadosh. Haifa coach Aleksander Stanoyvich’s defensive subsitution late in the game was to no avail as the points were split by the two teams.

Maccabi Netanya 0-2 Hapoel Tel Aviv

Hapoel Tel Aviv received first half goals by Israel Zaguri and Shlomi Azoulay as the Reds finally broke out of their four game losing streak at the Netanya Stadium. Maccabi Netanya players have been threatening to strike as of January 1 due to the financial crisis within the team and unfortunately that problem may be affecting the club’s performance on the pitch.

Hapoel Petach Tikva 0-0 Hapoel Raanana

Hapoel Petach Tikva offered free admission to its fans and 5,000 took the club up on the offer but no goals were to be had on this night in the Moshava Stadium. The football was much to be desired especially when the clubs had a gathering of the clan in the 37th minute which led to two ejections. Hasan Abu Zaid was sent off with a straight red card and Emmanuel M’bola picked up his second yellow as The match needed to be stopped for almost five minutes. The draw means that Raanana has not won in the past 6 games and leaves coach Haim Silvas trying to find answers as to what has happened to star strike Anthony Nwakaeme.

Hapoel Haifa 1-0 Hapoel Akko

Haifa and coach Reuven Atar got a bit of breathing room as the Haifa Reds picked up the three points on a Gal Cohen goal in the 28th minute. Midfielder Koby Dejani was sent off earlier in the match but even with 10 men Haifa was able to win against Akko.