Maccabi Haifa slipped by Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-1 as the Greens won for the first time in eight tries while Barak Bachar finally took home a victory in his return to the club he won three titles in a row with. After a goalless first half, Haifa scored from the penalty spot as Dolev Haziza slotted home the spot kick while Guy Melamed who was making the start after many months on the bench scored to give the Greens a 2-0 advantage by the 58th minute. The reds pressed to cut into the lead which they did via Roy Korine in the 88th minute but that was as close as they would get as the hosts took the 3-points.

“This win was like a birth and even more than that,” Maccabi Haifa Head Coach Barak Bachar said. “It was tough and stressful. We conceded the goal at the end and all kinds of thoughts ran through my head, but I felt the team was good today and despite the worries I knew we deserved it and would win. Out of the 90 minutes we played well for most of the match and even under pressure we kept playing. I’m very happy about that and hope it gives us confidence.”

Eliniv Barda discussed the defeat, “We knew they would start strong but after that we created good chances, two of them and we conceded twice. We pulled one back, but we couldn’t complete the comeback. We missed, they scored and that made the difference. We have a deep and good squad, and we will use everyone. There was room to start with the same lineup, but everything is in hindsight. Today what we were missing was the goal.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva and Hapoel Petach Tikva played to a 1-1 draw as the two sides split the points. Igor Zlatanovic scored in the first half thanks to a play that began by a long ball from keeper Niv Eliasi with a give and go assist from Dan Bitton but Jocelin Tabi latched onto an Itay Rotman pass as Petach Tikva found the equalizer and took home a point for their efforts.

Hapoel Beer Sheva Head Coach Ron Kozuk reflected on the draw, “The defensive actions we usually perform weren’t executed. The match shifted toward Hapoel Petach Tikva, who played through the long ball and rightly so; it gave them a boost. I was proud of the players for their ball movement in the first half, but we were too predictable. We didn’t reach the areas we’re used to getting to and to the spaces where we love to create when we pull the opponent out.”

Hapoel Petach Tikva Head Coach Omer Peretz said, “I’ve got mixed feeling about this game as we could have won this match. Beer Sheva’s individual quality is very high in one-on-one situations and in open field play. I told the players not to lose their heads because at 2–0 the match is over, but at 1–0 we created chances with the quality we have up front. The goal was to avoid conceding the second goal and stay in the match.”

Maccabi Bnei Reineh defeated Hapoel Jerusalem 2-1 thanks to Abdallah Jaber’s dramatic second half injury time marker to record their first win of the season and take the 3-points. Iyad Khalaili opened the scoring for Reineh before the game was seven ten minutes old but Matan Hozez scored the equalizer in the 90th minute. However, Jaber made sure to have the last word as his 98th minute winner gave the visitors the points and the victory.

Maccabi Bnei Reineh Head Coach Adham Hadiya commented following the dramatic win, “The players deserve it. We went through a difficult period where we were in many matches and we were right there, but things just didn’t come together but today it clicked. We played excellent football in the first half and could have gone up 2–0. We dropped back too much maybe because of a lack of confidence and a desire to protect the lead. Hapoel Jerusalem threw a lot of attacking players onto the pitch and I’m happy we managed to take the 3-points.”

Hapoel Jerusalem bench boss Ziv Arie added, “We were dominant in both halves, but we started off very soft. We conceded a goal that we should never had especially against a team playing with five defenders. We moved the ball well and created many chances in both halves. We felt the win in the air and instead of settling and holding on to the draw, we got carried away. It hurts but that’s football.”

Bnei Sakhnin and Kiryat Shemona drew 1-1 as Yair Mordechai scored in the 3rd minute to give he northerners the lead while Ahmad Salman drew Sakhnin even in the second half as each squad took a point.

Bnei Sakhin bench boss Sharon Mimer spoke about the contest, “Just like we can lose, they scored early and we had to chase the game, which isn’t easy. I’m happy with the character we showed and avoiding a loss here was important. We made some poor decisions and with more composure we could have created more chances. Most of the match was fairly even in my opinion.”

Shay Barda also commented on the match, “We achieved what we wanted to, but we fell asleep on the corner and that cannot happen. Week after week we lose points on small things. On the one hand, it’s a young team that I enjoy coaching; on the other hand, the lack of experience leads to the goals we concede and it’s my job to fix this on set pieces.”