“We’re only in the 10th round. You don’t win championships in the 10th round.”

Those were the words of Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda following his team’s dramatic 1-0 victory over Hapoel Beer Sheva, sealed by a 90th-minute winner from Roei Alkukin.

Barda is absolutely right. Championships aren’t won in November, and there is still a long way to go in the season. But the victory, and the fact that the Reds will head into the international break sitting atop the Israeli Premier League table, says plenty about what this team has accomplished and where it could be headed.

With 25 points from 10 matches, including eight wins, one draw and just one defeat, Barda and his squad find themselves in first place, perhaps a position few outside the club expected them to occupy at this stage of the campaign. The players and coaching staff, however, clearly believe they belong there.

Should Hapoel Tel Aviv be considered a legitimate championship contender? Without a doubt.

Since the Safra family purchased the club just a few year ago, Hapoel has undergone a remarkable transformation. A team that was promoted from the second division less than two years ago now has the quality, depth, financial backing and professionalism to compete for the biggest prize in Israeli football.

Perhaps that wasn’t necessarily part of the original roadmap, but here we are.

“When I took over Hapoel Tel Aviv, we were 12 points behind the promotion places,” Barda recalled. “It wasn’t easy. That season, we managed to earn promotion, and the following season we qualified for Europe. This year, we were just one goal away from reaching the league phase of the Conference League. We drew a very difficult opponent in Atalanta.”

Alongside CEO Guy Primor, an experienced figure in Israeli football, Barda has helped build this team from the back, establishing a solid foundation before allowing the attacking talent to flourish.

Still, the coach isn’t getting carried away by the current standings.

“We’re only in the 10th round. You don’t win championships in the 10th round. This is an important milestone, especially before the international break. We want to head into the break happy and coming off a victory. But we’re only in the 10th round, and we want to still be in the picture around April.”

One of the biggest reasons for Hapoel’s success has been its defensive stability. Israeli goalkeeper Assaf Tzur has been outstanding, showing that he has the ability to perform at the highest levels, while a quartet of foreign defenders consisting of Marcus Coco, Fernand Mayembo, Yannick Leilendal and fan favorite Chico has provided an imposing presence across the backline.

The numbers tell the story: Hapoel has conceded just six goals in 10 league matches.

The defensive unit, together with midfield imports Falcao and Andrian Kraev, has become an absolute force. At Turner Stadium, the Reds used their physicality to make life extremely difficult for Beer Sheva, turning the contest into a battle of attrition. The first half featured crunching tackles, plenty of yellow cards and two teams determined not to give an inch.

The second half opened up as both sides looked for a winner while remaining mindful of the danger of conceding. Just when it appeared that Barda’s team had begun to gain the upper hand, Beer Sheva Head Coach Ran Kozuk made several adjustments that shifted the momentum toward the hosts. Beer Sheva began to push forward and put Tzur under pressure, but the Hapoel goalkeeper responded with one superb save after another including one in the dying seconds of the contest.

Barda needed to find a way to regain control. He made a couple of substitutions but elected to keep Daniel Dappa on the pitch, despite the forward looking as though he had run out of gas after putting in an enormous shift up front.

That decision was hardly surprising given Dappa’s recent form and the way his coach has helped him respond to adversity.

Just a few weeks earlier, Dappa had an opportunity to play a pass to a wide-open Stav Turiel rather than take the shot himself, a decision that ultimately proved costly. He took the criticism on the chin, but rather than drop him or remove him from the squad, Barda gave his forward some tough love and continued to show faith in him.

Since then, beginning with a narrow 1-0 victory over Tiberias, Dappa has been terrific.

He scored a tremendous goal against Hapoel Jerusalem, played a key role in the Toto Cup final victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv and was outstanding against Maccabi Haifa. He has rewarded his coach’s confidence with performances that have made him an increasingly important part of the Reds’ attack.

“It was very important to keep him [Dappa] on the pitch,” Barda explained. “At that stage, the game was becoming very open, with play moving quickly from one end to the other. He gave us an option both with his runs in behind and through his ability to play with his back to goal. It was very important today to give the players some fresh legs.”

The introductions of Amit Lemkin, El Yam Kancepolski and Roy Corrine gave Barda the opportunity to change the dynamic of the contest, adding fresh energy and attacking options while creating more space for Dappa to operate.

That proved decisive.

“We had a little difficulty when they made a tactical adjustment and switched to a 3-5-2 formation,” Barda explained. “It took us a little time to adapt, but then we made an internal adjustment of our own and got ourselves back into the game. Things became balanced again and fortunately, we managed to score that late goal and take all three points.”

As the clock ticked into the 90th minute, Hapoel won a couple of important midfield duels and worked the ball forward to Dappa. The striker delivered a superb pass into the path of Roei Alkukin, who knew exactly what to do, calmly slotting the ball past a helpless Ofir Marciano to send the traveling Reds into celebration.

It was another timely contribution from Alkukin, who continues to demonstrate an uncanny knack for finding the back of the net when his team needs him most.

After the goal, Dappa was finally substituted, having put in a full day’s work and then some. He had played a major role in moving Hapoel to the top of the table, even if it was Alkukin who ultimately grabbed the headlines.

“Daniel and Alkukin combined beautifully in a move we’ve been working on in training,” Barda said. “With one player making a run to the near post and the other attacking the space in behind. They executed it very well and Roei finished it nicely. I’m happy they managed to combine to score.”

These are the moments sports fans live for, and this Israeli Premier League season has already delivered plenty of drama, excitement and unexpected twists through its first 10 rounds.

Under Barda’s guidance, Hapoel Tel Aviv has followed a clear and consistent path, approaching each challenge with the same mentality and refusing to get ahead of itself. The coach has demonstrated the tactical acumen, leadership and ability to get the best out of his players that could make this a very special season for the Reds.

There is still a long way to go, and Barda knows better than anyone that being in first place in November guarantees absolutely nothing. But Hapoel has put itself in a position to dream, and there is no reason it shouldn’t be considered among the favorites to challenge for the championship.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to build on what we’ve accomplished and push ourselves to reach our maximum potential. There are no easy games in this league. You’re seeing it yourselves: nothing comes easily and no victory is guaranteed.”

Barda may be right that championships aren’t won in the 10th round. But with Hapoel Tel Aviv sitting proudly at the top of the standings, the rest of the league has certainly been put on notice.