Beitar and Hapoel played to a 1-1 draw in the Jerusalem Derby as Awaka Ashta scored in the first half to give the reds the lead but a late Yarden Shua penalty for the yellow-and-blue split the points and move into second place on the table.

Yarin Levi and Matan Hozez traded chances early on while Johnbosco Kalu sent a laser beam towards the goal that was pawed to safety by the reds keeper Nadav Zamir in the 20th minute. Omer Atzily’s smart attempt was caught by Zamir, Guy Badash’s shock shot was taken care of by Miguel Silva at the other end, but Yonatan Laish sent a terrific through ball to Awaka Ashta who beat the Beitar keeper to give Hapoel a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute.

The yellow-and-black continued to pour on the offense but both Kalu and Brayan Carabali’s fantastic chances were saved by Zamir while the latter’s header off a Yarden Shua went into the stands as the half ended with Ziv Arie’s team nursing a 1-0 advantage.

Cedric Don smashed the ball off the bar as the reds looked to double their advantage while chances were at a premium for Beitar as they kept possession but couldn’t create an opportunity to get off a quality shot. Badash sent another ball right into Silva’s hands, Kalu and Yona’s long shots was easily gobbled up by Zamir, however, the tide would turn just minutes later.

Shua flicked the ball to Avi Ben Shimol who slice into the box and was yanked down by Ashta handing the aforementioned Shua a penalty that he promptly slotted home to draw Beitar even at 1-1 sending the fans into a frenzy. But Hapoel still had something left as Hozez came flying down the right flank but Silva tapped the ball to safety while Beitar tried in earnest to find the winner but it was not to be at the referee blew the final whistle and sent the sides home with a point a piece.

“It was a tough game and we had plenty of chances and the statistics looked good,” Beitar Jerusalem Head Coach Barak Itzhaki began. “But we also have to figure out how to win and also not to lose. It happens to us a a lot this season where teams play is very tight and we have to find a way to beat their defense. At the end of the day we finished the first round of matches in second place overall.”

Hapoel Jerusalem Head Coach Ziv Arie commented, “We are a good team and we believe in ourselves but unfortunately we didn’t win the game. We are always playing hard no matter what the situation and we are always trying to find a way to win.”

Yarden Shua spoke about the draw, “This was a very difficult game for us and we had Torino’s doing the things we normally are able to do well. We are not that happy about the result but we still have plenty of games left in the season and we will look forward from here.”

Ofek Nadir talked about the result, “We didn’t start the game well as the fans really pushed Beitar but we were able to settle things down and we had some solid chances. We had to know how to keep the result but it’s disappointing that we ended up playing to a draw.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva blanked Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 as Igor Zlatanovic payed a perfect give and go with Dan Bitton to find the back of the goal for the lone marker of the match which handed the southern reds the 3-points over the second place yellow-and-blue.

Ran Kozuk summed up the win “First of all, I think the fans deserve credit because we we didn’t want to disappoint them so we made sure we came in with a lot of momentum. It was important for us to come into a packed stadium and the crowd gave us a lot. Maccabi’s a quality team and it’s not easy to keep up with them but we did so and we need to understand what types of rivals we’re facing at the top of the standings. The league is more balanced this year than last and the mid-table teams are making things tough.”

Zarko Lazetic also shared his thoughts, “I’m very pleased with how we played; obviously the result is disappointing. What didn’t work for us in this game is that we didn’t score, that’s all.”

Maccabi Netanya took the hard fought win over Hapoel Haifa 4-3 as Wilson Harris scored deep into second half injury time to take the victory. Junior Diomande scored off a free kick while Oz Bilu scored in the 45th minute to go up 2-0, however, just before halftime Ofek Bitton scored to pull a goal back for the diamond city side. The Carmel reds drew even at 2-2 via an own goal by their keeper Omer Niron but Maor Levi gave Netanya a 3-2 lead in the 56th minute. Javon East headed home the tying goal for the southern reds but Wilson Harris headed in the winning goal in second half added time.

Maccabi Netanya Head Coach Yossi Abukasis gave his thoughts about the game, “I don’t recall such statistics for shots on target and the amount of chances we’ve been creating in recent matches is equal to a whole season. At least the game ended in a win and we deserved the win. I told the players that if we continue playing as we had been then we would eventually win.”

Hapoel Haifa bench boss Gal Arel commented, “We lacked the concentration to hold the lead. The last goal we conceded came after our own counterattack. The result in this game could have gone either way. It was dramatic ad fun for the spectator but less so for us.

Ashdod and Ironi Tiberias drew 1-1 as Noam Muche scored at the stroke of halftime to give the port city squad the lead but Itamar Shviro came back in the sending half to find the equalizer for the Kinneret based squad as each side took a point for their efforts.

Haim Silvas summarized the draw, “The first half was completely under our control. Tiberias crowded the middle and it was difficult. We managed to take a 1–0 lead and we wanted to draw them out and go up 2–0. We’re disappointed with the draw and we move on.”

Eliran Hodida also spoke about the draw, “The draw reflected the match. Ashdod were more dominant in the first half, we were more dominant in the second. We’re looking ahead to the next game. We need to maintain consistency over time.”

Bnei Sakhnin slipped by Maccabi Bnei Reineh 1-0 as Arthur Miranyan scored a 95th minute goal to secure the 3-points and the win.

Sahknin Head Coach Sharon Mimer said, “There was no pressure, it was the joy of a sweet victory in added time. We had a second half with chances I don’t know how we missed. At the end of the day in my opinion, justice prevailed and this is a very important win for the table that gives us distance from the bottom and confidence moving forward.”

Adham Hadiya did not hide his disappointment, “There were three shots off the post, but the ball just didn’t go in during the first half and we had clear chances but we simply weren’t focused. The ball didn’t want to go in. We tried to make changes and send in more attacking tools to no avail.”