Maccabi Haifa blanked Maccabi Netanya 2-0 as the Greens scored a goal in each half to take the points. Frantdzy Pierrot scored from in close off a corner kick in the 33rd minute while Dia Saba slammed home the second marker from the top of the box late in the second half to hand Barak Bachar’s team the win.

“I had opportunities to keep coaching in Europe, but I came back to be here with my family and the fans in the situation that the country is in,” Bachar began who also spoke about Dia Saba, “It was clear to me that it wouldn’t be easy for him to return to Haifa and we tried to handle it in the most sensitive way. We saw how hard he fought and battled. But it wasn’t just the goal he came here to play his best and to prove that he wants to be here which is doing.”

“We controlled the pace of play in the first half and reacted really well while having some very good chances,” Netanya coach Marko Balbul said. “We were able to play toe to toe with them but we had trouble finishing especially in the first half. We conceded the first goal on a set piece and the second one was a gift. We will continue to work hard. On the one hand, we are not satisfied but there still were some good things to take form this match and there is an excellent foundation here that I really believe in.”

Ironi Tiberias stunned Beitar Jerusalem 1-0 as Stanislav Bilenkyi scored deep into second half injury time to secure the win and the 3-points.

“Obviously it’s great to win and it’s something that is amazing for both me and the club as well as the fans,” Tiberias bench boss Eliran Hodeda said. “But just like last week when we didn’t go crazy after losing 4-0, we will stay even keeled. I am glad that we got the most out of this game and I am very happy that we were able to take 3-points.”

“We had chances in the first half but it wasn’t enough,” Beitar Head Coach Barak Itzhaki said. “In the second half we had more opportunities but in the end the ball didn’t go in. We couldn’t keep a clean sheet and it’s a shame. I don’t like goalless draws but sometimes in games like this in minutes like this, you have to know not to concede. I also need to see what I did wrong and we will fix it together with the players.”

Ashdod slipped by Kiryat Shemona 2-1 to pick up their first win of the season and collect the 3-points at the port city. Alfredo Stephens gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 7th minute but the hosts quickly found the equalizer as Roie Levy out home a Muhammed Knaan free kick five minutes later. Ashdod then grabbed the lead for good via a 29th minute penalty by the aforementioned Knaan as they held on for the victory in their home opener.

We really suffered to ensure this victory,” Ashdod bench boss Eli Levy began. “I think that the first half was like a continuation from the game against Beitar Jerusalem. We had to play smarter football in the second half, we got some half chances but went backwards however, it’s always better to take the points rather than take compliments. This is our second season together and we are a better team than last year.”

“We scored early but we paid the price of naivety as we gave Ashdod two gifts,” Kiryat Shemona Head Coach Shay Barda said. “I don’t know what holiday it is but we gave out plenty of presents. There were enough chances in this game to take a point but we can take some good things from this game as the players did work hard and wanted a good result. But when you make a mistake as we did you pay the price.”

Maccabi Bnei Reineh downed Hapoel Haifa 3-1 thanks to a trio of second half goals to take the win and the 3-points. Dmitri Antelevski scored off a straight corner kick in the 7th minute to give the carmel reds an early 1-0 lead which they took into the break. However, the second half was all Bnei Reineh as Abadallah Jaber polished off a terrific team play to draw his side even in the 57th minute which was followed up by a Bar Lin red card off a reckless foul which reduced Haifa down to 10-men. Guy Hadida’s left footed strike from outside of the box gave the visitors the lead while Saar Fadida added an insurance marker in the 95th minute to polish off the victory.

“I enjoyed this game maybe three times as much as everyone else,” Bnei Reineh Head Coach Sharon mimer said. “It’s fun to see the players carry out the instructions that they were given and reach a crazy number of chances and we won after having been down. This shows that we are a healthy team with a lot of personality. I’m satisfied. There were easy situations, we weren’t good enough to finish them in the first half, but we went into the break with confidence.”

“This was a very poor game by us as a team and also individually,” Haifa coach Roni Levy said following the match. “Of course, I have a responsibility as a coach and Reineh was the superior side than us in all parameters and we did not find solutions to hold onto the ball and move it as well. We didn’t press well and this is a very worrying loss, we have to realize that this is a different year and it’s not the same team as last season. We need to know that we are going through a very difficult period and we will have to find the right identity for ourselves in order to survive and battle.”

Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Hadera played to a 1-1 draw as the sides split the points in the capital city. Godsway Donio gave Hadera a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute but Jelle Duin headed home the tying goal in the 60th minute as each team took a point a piece for their efforts.

“We missed out here because we had opportunities as we were up 1-0,” Hadera coach Haim Silvas said. “We could have scored the second goal but we were soft in the front and conceded what would be a semi-accidental goal. Any result could have been possible in this game and when we are leading against a team that sends a lot of players forward on the attack then we need to know how to score the second goal and win the game.”

“After nine weeks of training camp this was really the first time I can say that I liked what I saw from the squad,” Jerusalem coach Ziv Arie explained. “The guys are still not in playing shape but getting there. This was a very good game for many minutes where we could have been leading 3 or 4-0 but we went into the hole 1-0. Hadera is a tough team, which defends well but we managed to come back, however, the end of the game was a bit messy for us.”