Maccabi Haifa outlasted Ashdod 2-1 in one of the most bizarre games of the season that saw four penalties awarded within twenty minutes of first half play. Greens defender Dylan Batubinsika was issued a straight red card after yanking down Elad Sahaf as he made his way into the box which gave the port city squad a penalty why the hosts were reduced to ten men. Elton Acolatse then slotted home the first marker of the match from the spot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.

Ran Ben Shimon’s side could have doubled the score as they were given another penalty after Muhammad Knaan was tripped up in the box but his attempt was saved by keeper Josh Cohen. In the 26th minute it was Barak Bachar’s turn to take a penalty after a Jordan Saban handball in the area which Omer Atzily promptly scored to draw even at 1-1. However, it wasn’t even for long when less than ten minutes later the exact same sequence occurred again as Saban’s handball allowed Atzily to slot home his second spot kick and give Haifa the lead for good as they took the 3-points.

“This was one of the craziest games that I have ever experienced as a coach,” Bachar said following the victory. “There were absolutely insane things that happened on this game. To play 90 minutes with only ten men against this team, I have to really give credit to my players. The fans helped us during some of the tough minutes especially after the second penalty. This is one of the biggest wins that we have had as a team over the past number of seasons.”

“I’m not disappointed, maybe just from the result,” Ben Shimon explained. “We had enough opportunities to score and if we could have evened up the game, we would have been right there. We were right there and it was up to us. When they tied up the game we felt the pressure and maybe we needed to just slow down at that point.”

Beitar Jerusalem slipped by Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-1 thanks to a late goal by Tamir Adi to hand the hosts the points. The Reds snatched the lead on an Amit Cohen own goal in the 48th minute, but a quarter hour later the yellow-and-black found the equalizer via Grigori Morozov. As both sides looked for a winner, Adi polished off a team play in the 83rd minute to hand the capital city squad the 3-points.

“I don’t know if I can say that this is revenge from the last game,” Beitar coach Yossi Abukasis said. “I think we had a tough span in terms of results and this game we also scored. Even when it was 0-0 we controlled the pace of play but se still had issue creating chances. In the second half we were more decisive on the attack and this was the result.”

“The bottom half of the table is going to be very hot,” Hapoel bench boss Haim Silvas said. “It’s not going to be easy and we weren’t calm when we had the ball. After we scored we could have found a second goal but we didn’t make the proper decisions in the last third of the pitch. Fate that Beitar had the momentum.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv blanked Maccabi Netanya 2-0 as the yellow-and-blue got back onto the winning track with a pair of first half goals. Seldom used midfielder Dan Bitton got the start and made sure to take advantage of his chance to impress as he slammed home a 25 meter free kick in the 31st minute to gave the hosts a 1-0 lead. Less than ten minutes later Eran Zahavi and Bitton teamed up on a give and go as the former scored to take a 2-0 advantage to wrap up the victory and the points.

“We began the game well and in the first half we were able to see a team that worked well together,” Maccabi coach Aitor Karanka explained. “I’m very proud of the team and the players deserve the credit for the win. In the second half we continued to do good things and I expected more but all in all I am very content with the win and from the overall game.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva slipped by Hapoel Jerusalem 1-0 as Eugene Ansah scored the lone goal of the contest just ahead of the break to ensure that the southern reds stayed within striking distance of Maccabi Haifa.

“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy, ”Beer Sheva coach Elyaniv Barda said. “We still have nine more finals so to speak and this game was the first final for us. I feel that we began the game very well, despite a few turnovers. We controlled the first half and while we didn’t play well at the start of the second half we made some adjustments and we went from there.”

“We saw a team in the first half that went to battle for the title and another that didn’t come prepared to play in the championship playoffs,” a disappointed Jerusalem coach Ziv Arie said. “They didn’t have many chances in the first half and if we would have gone into the break at 0-0 we would have won the game.”

Sektzia Nes Ziona defeated Hapoel Hadera 2-1 as all three goals were scored in the second half in an entertaining relegation battle. Ilay Trost and Yoni Stoyanov scored for Shlomi Dura’s squad while Ido Levy countered for Menachem Koretzky’s team.

“We just have to keep believing that we can win,” Nes Ziona coach Shlomi Dura said. “The results in this round also were in our favor. I asked my players to really play tooth over the last two games and they did just that. We succeeded in our first relegation playoff game and now we have six more to go.”

“We didn’t come to play in the second half whatsoever and that’s very disappointing,” Menachem Koretzky said. “We made a lot of mistakes and our defense was soft, plus we didn’t take advantage of our chances. We have to really make an effort in these relegation playoffs and now we are going to break with the feeling of disappointment.”

Bnei Sakhnin hosted Bnei Reinah to a dramatic 2-2 draw as Mark Koszta scored a late penalty to give the visitors a hard earned point. Loei Halaf gave Reineh a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute but a Freddy Plumain penalty early on in the second half drew Sakhnin even. Osama Khalaila’s own goal gave Sakhnin a 2-1 advantage but a handball in the box by Roie Shukrani gave Reineh’s Koszta a 96th minute spot kick which he promptly put home to split the points.

“It’s tough to end the game like this,” Sakhnin coach Kobi Refuah said. “This isn’t the first time that we have given up a goal in the 90th minute and we aren’t managing the pressure well. If we would have won we would have guaranteed staying up in the top league but we will have to just do it the hard way.”

“We didn’t deserve to lose the game and the point that we earned was justified,” Reineh coach Sharon Mimer explained. “I’m happy with how we played in a very tough game against a toogh team at a tough pitch. We will keep taking points until we reach our goal.”

Hapoel Haifa and Kiryat Shemona played to a 1-1 draw as Muhammad Kamara gave the Carmel Reds a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute but a Guy Mizrachi own goal off a corner kick tied the game up as each side took a point a piece.

“This was a tough game to play with such difficult weather conditions but it was fun to be out on the pitch,” Kiryat Shemona coach Slobodan Drapic said. “We tried to open up the game in the first half but we were unsuccessful but we were able to do so on the second. We could have won or lost this game but as a playoff game we have to take points any way we can.”

“I’m disappointed as this was a game that I really wanted to win,” Haifa coach Roni Levy said. “We took the lead off a set piece and we had plenty of chances but the players need to find away to use their abilities to score when they are in close near the goal.”