Maccabi Haifa got by Hapoel Hadera 1-0 as Gadi Kinda scored the lone goal of the game in the 62nd minute to give the Greens the 3-points to keep them in first place ahead of their UEFA Conference League Round of 16 first leg clash against Fiorentina on Thursday.  

“Last week we saw a lot of very nice goals and terrific play,” Haifa coach Messay Diego said. “But this game was a much more difficult and tactical game however, I am happy that we collected the three points in this tough game ahead of our European match against Fiorentina. They are a very strong team that play in Italy’s Seria A and we aren’t going to play one soccer but more tactical but we will be ready.”

“There is a gap between the clubs,” Hadera coach Haim Silvas began. “We came here to make Maccabi Haifa uncomfortable which we did but they rightfully ended up winning the game. We could have done a bit more on the attack with a bit of pressure and some extra passes, but we made sure to come in prepared for this game. If we didn’t as we have seen with other teams the result could be much more difficult to handle.”