Maccabi Netanya downed Maccabi Petach Tikva 2-1 as Matheus Davo scored the second half winner for the diamond city squad in Toto Cup play. Bassam Zarora gave Roni Levy’s team a 1-0 lead but Jose Cortes drew the hosts even ahead of the break. However, Maor Levi sent Davo a brilliant through ball that the Brazilian knew exactly what to do with as he beat keeper Dor Hevron to give Netanya the win.

Netanya Head Coach Roni Levy summed up the match, “At the end of the day, these are Toto Cup matches. Every official game is important, but this is also a crucial part of our preparation. We still have a lot of work to do. Even if the result had been different, we’d still be looking to strengthen the squad, with additions in central midfield, defence, and on the wing. The squad is not complete yet.”

Maccabi Petach Tikva bench boss Ziv Arie reflected on the match, “You can divide the game into several phases. The first half was very similar to the derby, there was a mental aspect to it, with young players involved. During our weaker spells, Netanya took control, and without creating many chances, we conceded a needless goal. The start of the second half was excellent, but their second goal knocked us out of our rhythm. We’ll take the positives from it and fix what needs to be improved.”

Hapoel Ramat Gan slipped by Hapoel Petach Tikva 2-1 as the newly promoted side came back from a 1-0 deficit to take the win in Toto Cup action. Shavit Mazal gave the visitors a first half lead but goals by Idan Baranes and Luan Campos in the second half gave Massy Diego’s team the victory.

Ramat Gan bench boss Massay Dego did not hide his satisfaction after the match, “The guys surprised me. We knew we were coming up against a very well-coached team with a core group that’s been together since last season. My message was that we shouldn’t be overawed and that we needed to press well, and we did that for long stretches of the game.”

Hapoel Petach Tikva Head Coadh Omer Peretz gave an honest assessment of his team’s difficulties, “I was less than pleased with the way we looked defensively. Ramat Gan controlled possession far more than we did, we were pinned back and we lacked intensity. But this is exactly the right time to identify these issues and fix them.”