Hapoel Tel Aviv cruised to a 3-0 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem as three different players found the back of the net, while Yannick Leliendal provided a pair of assists to help the visiting Reds secure all three points.

With 7,000 Hapoel Tel Aviv fans at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, Daniel Dappa opened the scoring just before halftime, taking a gorgeous through ball from Douglas Owusu before dribbling past a defender inside the box and unleashing a powerful strike into the back of the net to give Hapoel Tel Aviv a 1-0 lead.

The Reds doubled their advantage early in the second half when Omri Altman finished off a magnificent backheel from Leliendal in the 53rd minute. Less than 10 minutes later, substitute Roie Alkukin tapped home a terrific Leliendal cross to make it 3-0 and put the result beyond doubt.

After the match, Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda reflected on his side’s performance and the adjustments that helped them pull away in the second half.

“We weren’t good enough in the first half and didn’t control the tempo enough. We struggled until we made adjustments at halftime, and bringing on Roie Alkukin also helped us. The second and third goals came from excellent attacking moves involving plenty of passing and movement. They were incredible attacking sequences.”

Hapoel Jerusalem Head Coach Lior Zada looked back on the defeat and acknowledged his team’s defensive struggles.

“We had some good spells in the first half and played well, controlling the tempo of the game. But then we conceded a very soft goal at the end of the half. It was a tough game, but we need to work hard to get results. We’re conceding too many goals, although we’re also playing many of our games against top teams with a lot of quality.”

Dappa was pleased to contribute to the victory and also looked ahead to the upcoming derby.

“It’s a great feeling to succeed as a team. We want to keep going like this and, with God’s help, go as far as possible. The derby is a very important match for the fans and the club. We want to win every trophy, and we’ll do everything we can to win.”

Altman also highlighted the team’s ability to adapt after a challenging opening half.

“They played differently than we had expected, so we had to make adjustments, which we were able to do in the second half. The goal I scored was really a team goal, and it was an amazing feeling for us as a group.”

Meanwhile, Hapoel Jerusalem’s Noam Malmud stressed the need for defensive improvement while insisting that his team remained determined to turn things around.

“We’re conceding too many goals, and we need to improve defensively. We have the desire to be there and win games, and we know we haven’t done that over the past few matches. But that’s where we want to be, and it’s a long season.”