Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Bnei Reineh played to a 2-2 draw as Guy Hadida scored a brace with his second goal coming deep in second half injury time as the two sides split the points. The Greens came into the game after tough week which saw Barak Bachar’s team lose striker Frantzdy Pierrot to AEK Athens and forward Dean David go out with an injury. However, that didn’t stop Dia Saba for slamming home a 17th minute free kick from 20 meters out for a 1-0 lead.

Guy Hadida scored his first of two markers as he headed in the ball in the 62nd minute to draw Reineh even, but Oleksandr Syrota gave Haifa a 2-1 lead in the 91st minute with a strike off a Saba corner kick. But a 99th minute handball by Syrota handed Hadida a penalty that he promptly scored to tie the match up and earn a point.

“It’s very disappointing that we managed to score such a late goal and in the end we conceded anyway, but that’s part of the game,” Haifa coach Barak Bachar said. “Relative to the situation we came into, I am satisfied with what we gave in this match. We were united, we helped each other. We dominated, we could have led by more than one goal, we neutralized them because we pressed well. We wanted to win but it didn’t happen.”

“Up until it was 1-1 I was satisfied,” Bnei Reineh coach Sharon Mimer began. “Haifa didn’t manage to get into many good scoring situations and we were able to get into some of the dangerous areas but we missed our chances. At the end of the day, it’s a game against one of the two wealthiest teams in the league. But little Bnei Reineh did not give up and we tried to attack but in the end I think justice was done with the 2-2 draw.

Hapoel Haifa overwhelmed Hapoel Jerusalem 4-0 as a Guy Melamed first half brace set the tone for the win. Melamed found the back of the goal in the 4th minute and then added his second 14 minutes later off a set piece for a quick 2-0 lead. Just before halftime an Ohad Almagor own goal gave the hosts a three goal advantage while Liran Sardel added another strike for the 4-0 dominating win.

“The only thing I can ask for is that we can continue this way after a game like this,” Haifa bench boss Roni Levy said after the win. “We saw an excellent example of a tactical and committed game that reminds all of us as to how we played last year. When that happens then you can see the qualities of the players. We went into the international break with a poor feeling after a loss and thus was due to being a bit late in our preparation for this season as players joined the team late but they are good players which will allow us to be a strong team.”

“I don’t know what we expected or what we wanted from this game,” a disappointed Jerusalem head coach Ziv Arie began. “We had played a good game against Hadera that started well and ended in a draw, but this game saw us start very poorly and then it went into our heads, however, we will learn from it. We didn’t defend well in transition and we were very soft with poor defense. We knew Haifa would come on very aggressive and we wanted to score a quick goal but we made mistakes.”

Bnei Sakhnin and Ashdod drew 2-2 as the port city side’s two late second half goals handed each side a point for their efforts. Naftaly Balay gave Sakhnin a 1-0 first half lead while substitute Daniel Joulani doubled the lead by the 66th minute as the Galilee side looked to be in cruise control to take the 3-points. However, Stav Nachmani cut the lead to 2-1 in the 76th minute and Ebenezer Mamatah jumped all cover a rebound ten minutes later to find the equalizer and split the points.

“Our 2-0 lead was really an illusion,” Sakhnin coach Solobodan Drapic said. “You feel as if you are in control and you are on your way to victory and then everything is turned upside down. I made substitutions that didn’t help us which led us to lose the game as to how we were playing and we came under pressure. It’s a shame that we lost two points, but that’s soccer.”

“First of all, I’m happy with the result,” Ashdod coach Eli Levy began. Although we could have stolen a victory after being behind by a pair of a goals we can’t be greedy. I have a team that does not leave give up at any point of the game and one that always believes in itself.”

Kiryat Shemona downed Ironi Tiberias 2-0 as the northerners picked up their first win of the season. Recently loaned Nadav Nidam gave Shai Barda’s team a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute while Yair Mordechai salted away the win in the 96th minute to give Kiryat Shemona their first win back in the top league.

“I think in my eyes this game was a direct continuation of the second half of our last one in Ashdod,” Barda said following the game. “We worked very hard during the last two weeks and played against a team that will cause a lot of trouble for the league. I greatly appreciate and respect both Eliran Hodeida and Tiberias. We played well in the first half as we pressed the whole field. In the second half there were moments when we went backwards and I tried very hard not to let that happen.”

“There is nothing to talk about if we, little Tiberias come into a game in the top league without hunger, without passion and without the desire to take points, then we should not be in this league,” Tiberias coach Eliran Hodeida said. In soccer, there are better days and those that are not as good, but if we feel relaxed after one win in the league, we’ll then that situation is one that is very serious. I’m very disappointed, we’ll take care of this and we’ll have to know how to change it.”