Maccabi Haifa blanked Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-0 with a goal in each half to inch closer to the Israeli league championship. Omer Atzily scored for the first time in nine games as the midfielder put home a Tjaron Chery cross to give the Greens a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute while Dolev Haziza added an insurance strike late in the second half to take the 3-points.

“We’re very close to taking the championship,” Haifa coach Barak Bachar said. “We took a very significant step towards the title with the win and there is one more game set for Turner stadium against Beer Sheva where we can wrap it all up. Last week when we lost we got a real wake up call and we made sure to come into this game to win.”

“Of course it’s not pleasant to lose the game,” Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Kobe Refuah said. “We weren’t in the game in the first half and in the second we had some chances but at the end of the day their quality decided this match. We had a tough week after losing the Derby 5-0.”

Dolev Haziza also reflected on the victory, “We won a very important game and we are very happy that we have another small step to take in order to say congratulations. Next week we have a big game where we can finish this story.”