Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Jerusalem played to an exhilarating 1-1 draw to earn a point a piece at Teddy Stadium in the capital city. The hosts opened the scoring as Reds keeper Nadav Zamir sent a long ball to Harel Shalom who in turn crossed it to an oncoming Marko Rakonjac however, Ziv Arie’s squad was recued to ten men in the 22nd minute due to a reckless tackle by Awaka Eshata.

The Greens pressed to find an equalizer but were only able to do so when Manuel Benson passed the ball to Guy Melamed who then found Trivante Stewart in the box to finally beat Zamir to draw even at 1-1. The visitors kept trying to score the winner but Zamir was up to the task time and time again as the sides split the points.

Maccabi Haifa bench boss Barak Bachar spoke about the draw, “Sometimes it’s harder to play against 10 players because of the congestion on the pitch. We didn’t do enough, we weren’t smart enough and not clinical enough. It’s a shame about the goal we conceded, it’s hindsight, but still a shame. We conceded from perhaps what was Hapoel Jerusalem’s only attack in the entire match.”

Hapoel Jerusalem Head Coach Ziv Arie also shared his thoughts on the result, “The game plan went exactly the way we wanted. We picked a stupid red card and in our situation we can’t afford that but we drew with a bit of luck and a lot of guys playing their hearts out. I’m proud of my players.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv blanked Ironi Tiberias 2-0 as Amit Lemkin scored in the 69th minute and Roie Alkukin sent a scorcher into the host’s goal to take the 3-points and the win.

Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda talked about the victory, “We waited a long time for this away win and I’m very happy about the victory. We really wanted to maintain momentum and build a run of positive results and I’m glad we succeeded. Substitutions are part of the game and you need to know how to make them at the right time. Fortunately, that’s been helping us in recent matches.”

Tiberias bench boss Eliran Hodeida spoke about the defeat, “Hapoel were more dominant. We played well for the most part, but like many times this season, we conceded soft goals and lost. Our decision-making was not good enough; we could have done more in the attacking third.”

Maccabi Netanya and Kiryat Shemona played to a 1-1 draw as Matheus Davo scored in the first half for the hosts while Adrian Ugarriza found the equalizer for the visitors in the second half to split the points.

Netanya Head Coach Roni Levy discussed the draw, “I’m definitely disappointed. We should have gotten more out of this match so it’s very, very disappointing. Games like this you need to know how to finish much earlier and even if not, then at least not concede a goal and that’s a shame. The guys tried, but a bit of lack of concentration and we conceded.”

Kiryat Shemona Head Coach Shay Barda added, “In the first half we were very weak. We went through a difficult week with a lot of background noise and players being benched, but we played like Kiryat Shemona has played all season. I’m very happy with the point and with the second half.”

Ashdod defeated Hapoel Haifa 2-0 as a pair of second half goals by Roei Gordana and Mohammed Amar, with both coming from outside of the box, gave the port city side the 3-points and the win.

Ashdod bench boss Nir Bitton spoke about the win, “Having a long winless streak was weighing on us and it was in our heads and this victory have us some space heading into the next matches. As a coach, it’s paralyzing pressure, it’s not like being a player, because you don’t have direct influence on the game. “

Haifa Head Coach Haim Silvas talked about the defeat, “It was quite an even match between the teams. It was clear that one action by one side would decide it. You need strong character to win games like these and unfortunately we conceded first and that’s the result.”

Hapoel Petach Tikva downed Bnei Sakhnin 2-1 as Mark Koszta scored a brace to take the 3-points and the win.

Petach Tikva Head Coach Omer Peretz spoke about the victory, “We absolutely deserved the win. We created plenty of chances and this was a very important victory for us. I’m very happy.”

Sakhnin bench boss Sharon Mimer talked about the defeat, “In the first half we weren’t very good and when we pushed forward and exposed our defense, they created more chances. In the second half we were in the game. After our equalizer we had another good chance and then we conceded. It’s a match that could have gone either way.”