Hapoel Beer Sheva swamped Bnei Sakhnin 5-0 as Dan Bitton scored a brace to keep the table leaders on top of the standings for yet another round of play. After a fairly even opening twenty minutes, Mathew Cudjoe’s reckless tackle on Helder Lopes saw the midfielder sent off leaving Sakhnin with only ten men. With the extra player on the pitch the southern reds went to work and grabbed a 1-0 lead via an Igor Zlatanovic header off a Lopes ball while Bitton scored his first of two just ahead of halftime to double the advantage.

Bitton then took care of an errant clearing pass by Sakhnin keeper Muhammed Abu Nil in the 48th minute for a 3-0 lead while Mohammed Knaan’s laser beam from the top of the box found its way into the goal and Kings Kangwa who just returned from the African Nations Cup also scored to polish off the 5-0 win.

Beer Sheva Head Coach Ran Kozuk spoke about the dominating victory, “I think even before the red card we were playing well, we were very committed and focused and the red card gave us an extra push. I’m happy with the performance and commitment of the players. It was a challenge for us as we talked about the fact that we hadn’t had good away games recently. We were looking for a way to come to an away match and look the way we know how at Turner Stadium and that’s what we did in this game.”

Sakhnin bench boss Sharon Mimer said after the match, “Until the red card we were in the game as I didn’t see any quality chances from Beer Sheva. Naturally, after that they controlled the game more. As the match developed, we could have caught them more unprepared. The longer it goes without conceding against a team like Beer Sheva, it works in your favor. If there hadn’t been a red card, a different game would have developed.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Hapoel Jerusalem 3-1 to pick up the points and the road win at Teddy Stadium. Elad Madmon pounced on a poor stop by the Jerusalem keeper Nadav Zamir and gave Maccabi a quick 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute while the visitors doubled the advantage less than ten minutes later via an Ido Shachar penalty. Ibeh Ransom pulled a goal back in the 19th minute and Awaka Ashta had a chance to draw the reds even from the penalty spot but Maccabi keeper Ofek Melika made a diving save to his right to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the break.

Tyrese Asante added an insurance marker in the 71st minute while Jerusalem were reduced to ten-men five minutes later when Matan Hozez was sent off as the yellow-and-blue took the 2-goal win.

Maccabi Head Coach Žarko Lazetić spoke about the victory, “This was a good win for us. We controlled everything, but after conceding an unnecessary goal, we kept going. At the end of the day we won and we’re already continuing our work going forward.”

Hapoel Jerusalem Coach Ziv Arie reflected on the defeat, “We lost to a team that is better than us and now we move on. I did what I thought was right, like in every match. We’ll continue on our path and believe we’ll get out of this situation. I can’t change the fact that the situation isn’t good but we’ll believe it will be good.”

Ironi Tiberias stunned Maccabi Netanya 4-0 to take the 3-points and move further away from the relegation zone. Itamar Shviro opened the scoring in the 33rd minute while Eliyahu Belilti doubled the advantage with a chip shot over keeper Omer Niron for a 2-0 lead at halftime. Guy Hadida and Wahib Habibala both scored second half goals from inside of the box to polish off the victory.

Tiberias Head Coach Eliran Hodeida talked about the win, “A very important victory for us. We talked beforehand that this game was a crossroads and that we needed to show maturity. These are another three important points for the road ahead. I was impressed by the team commitment. We played good football and were rewarded for the hard work. This is another milestone for the club.”

Netanya bench boss Yossi Abukasis said after the match, “A terrible game from us. Although we controlled the pace of play during the first 25 minutes, from their first goal everything turned around. We conceded on their first attack, tried to make changes at halftime and paid for it on the counterattacks. We lost deservedly; even when we were better, we couldn’t create chances.”

Hapoel Petach Tikva defeated Maccabi Bnei Reineh 4-1 as Roee David recorded a brace and an assist on Shavit Mazal’s goal of the year candidate to collect the 3-points. After a delay due to a power failure, Mazal scored a brilliant bicycle kick from inside the box off David ball in the 6th minute to set the tone early for Petach Tikva. David then scored a quick brace and gave the hosts a 3-0 lead as the match hit the 20th minute. Ilay Elmkies scored for Bnei Reineh in the 52nd minute but Chipyoka Songa scored ten minutes later to wrap up the win.

Hapoel Petach Tikva bench boss Omer Peretz said, “A fantastic opening from us, a celebration of football. It’s great to see players who never stop exciting us. We’re using the entire squad with many players who have gotten fewer minutes so far are doing their job. This is an exciting team and it’s fun to be part of this.”

Bnei Reineh Head Coach Adham Hadiya summed up the defeat, “We didn’t lose because of the lineup I put out. Hapoel Petah Tikva opened the match excellently and we weren’t focused at the start. In the opening minutes it’s very much about determination, aggression, and concentration before tactics and we failed on the mental side.”