Maccabi Haifa crushed Kiryat Shemona 4-0 as Dean David scored a brace for the greens in the away win. Barak Bachar’s squad got off a quick start when Dolev Haziza’s cross smashed off of Kiryat Shemona’s Noam Cohen in the box as the ball went by keeper Assaf Tzur for an own goal and a 1-0 Haifa lead in the 13th minute. David doubled the advantage off a short corner from Lior Refaelov while the striker added his second of the game off another cover kick for a 3-0 lead in the 72nd minute. Five minutes later Oleksandr Syrota polished off the scoring as he put home Dia Saba’s ball for a 4-0 victory and the 3-points.

“In the first half we created a lot of situations and we said that this is the kind of game where we were feeling a bit too comfortable with ourselves,” Bachar said. “We could have easily given up a goal from a corner or a mistake and just get into trouble. It was very difficult to play because there was no atmosphere, it reminded me a bit of when we played during COVID with no fans. It’s a shame that the supporters didn’t enjoy the goals we scored, but I hope we gave some moments of satisfaction to the fans who were at home in front of the TV.”

“The differences in quality between the teams are well known,” Kiryat Shemona coach Shai Barda said. “But there were many things in this game that didn’t characterize the way a Kiryat Shemona team plays since I have been a part of it and since we moved up a league. This is unacceptable to me. The DNA that helped promote the team is to stay together and after we went down 2-0 it was nowhere in sight. It’s very disappointing and I’m worried, but we’ll make sure to fix it.”

Beitar Jerusalem downed Bnei Reineh 2-0 as the yellow-and-black scored a pair of second half strikes to collect the points. After a goalless first half, Dor Micha fed Myron George for the opening goal in the 53rd minute and less ten minutes later Micha assisted on Yarden Shua’s marker to wrap up the victory.

“The game can be divided into two halves,” Beitar bench boss Barak Itzhaki began. “In the first we didn’t move the ball well enough, we didn’t press them well enough, certainly in the middle of the pitch they broke free very easily. We didn’t control the game enough. At halftime, we changed our formation and style of play a little and I’m happy that it worked.”

“In the first half, we didn’t give them any space and the game was even,” Bnei Reineh coach Sharon Mimer said. “In the second half, unfortunately, we came out a little differently and gave them space and Beitar with its quality knows what to do and they deservedly won.”

Hapoel Jerusalem pounded Maccabi Petach Tikva 4-1 Don Cedric bagged a brace as the capital city reds picked up the 3-points. Andrew Idoko opened the scoring in the 43rd minute to give the hosts a 1-0 lead heading into the break while Samba Diallo scored just minutes into the second half to double the advantage. Cedric then scored his first of two in the 54th minute and his second in the 82nd minute to give Jerusalem a 4-0 lead before Or Roizman broke up the clean sheet for Petach Tikka’s lone goal of the match.

“We have a good team,” Jerusalem Ziv Arie said. “I believe that we deserved more in veery game that we played this season. It’s not easy for one to see what your squad can give. Hapoel Jerusalem has a good team and we will prove it. I hope that the situation in the country calms down, it is a privilege that we play football.”

“The second half was simply terrible,” Petach Tikva coach Dan Roman said. “There were two completely different halves. The first we played the way we wanted, we were in control. It can’t be that a first half like that turns into a second half like this. We have to be mentally stable. At the end of the day we have to maintain concentration and do things like we did in the first half.”