Hapoel Tel Aviv shocked Beitar Jerusalem 3-2 as Omri Altman’s free kick stunner as the final whistle sounded gave the reds the 3-points and the thrilling win that will go down as one of the greatest games of the past number of seasons in the Israeli soccer league. 

After a slow start by both teams, Hapoel Tel Aviv picked up the pace and was awarded a penalty after Grigori Morozov yanked captain Fernando Maymebo’s jersey as Stav Turiel stepped up and slotted home the spot kick for a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute. It looked as if the Reds added a second marker as Chico headed home a corner kick but the goal was cancelled due to a foul on the Beitar keeper Miguel Silva in the box. 

With new life, the yellow-and-black pushed forward and were rewarded for their efforts as Dor Micha nodded in Omer Atzily’s free kick to draw the visitors even at 1-1 just as the game hit halftime. 

Beitar continued to control the pace of play and finally broke through to take the lead when Gil Cohen was able to turn in the box and put the ball by keeper Asaf Tzur for a 2-1 lead in the 78th minute. However, the reds made a double substitution to freshen up their attack as they hit the woodwork a pair of times and then finally broke through when Tureil lifted a perfect ball to Andrian Kraev who hammered the ball with his head past a helpless Silva to draw even at 2-2 at the 90th minute. Beitar had a chance to take the lead deep into second half injury time on Atzily’s free kick but his ball grazed the bar and went out allowing Hapoel one final opportunity. 

Omri Altman who came on as a late substitute and had not been in the squad for the first two games, latched onto the ball as he raced towards the Beitar goal and was tripped up just outside of the box by Gil Cohen who was issued a straight red card, setting up a free kick just at the top of the area. 

Altman took a few steps back, the Reds in the Beitar defensive wall who were blocking Silva’s view ran out of the way as the veteran blasted a tremendous perfectly placed ball into the net sending the fans and Hapoel players into ecstasy as the defeated their arch rivals at the death in an instant classic. 

“There was character here,” Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda began. “That’s been the case from the start of the season. We were able to win the game off the set piece, but we really put on a show in the second half where we created so many chances and hit the woodwork twice. I wanted to make an offensive substitution and just beforehand we ended up giving up a goal but we kept pushing forward and we showed that we can control the game at Bloomfield and take a big victory.”

A dejected Beitar Jerusalem bench boss Barak Itzhaki also spoke about the game, “I’m disappointed it wasn’t a great game from us and we did take the lead but we didn’t know how to keep it lead as we were naive. Hapoel came back and we needed to play our style of game but we allowed them to have too many chances. We hit the bar and then we ended up with a foul and a red card off a mistake and then we gave up a brutally painful goal.” 

Maccabi Haifa sunk Ashdod 5-1 as the greens scored a trio of penalties to take the win. Travante Stewart headed home the opening goal in the 8th minute but Ilay Tamam drew the port city side even twenty minutes later. However, sloppy play from Ashdod resulted in both Matias Nahuel and Dolev Haziza scoring from the penalty spot while Abdulaye Seck nodded in the greens fourth marker just before Djorde Jovanovic scored yet another penalty to put the finishing touches on the victory. 

“We controlled the game and created many chances along with scoring off of set pieces,” Haifa bench boss Diego Flores said. “It was a good effort by everyone and we have a very deep squad which will allow us to play many guys. That also gives me a big headache but a good one at that.”

“There’s not much to say,” Ashdod coach Haim Silvas began. “We conceded off of set pieces all season long and we must get better as a team. We knew they would pressure us and we tried to play our game but we made mistakes which is very frustrating.”