Maccabi Tel Aviv cruised by Ashdod 4-1 to begin the new campaign on the right foot. After a goalless first half, the yellow-and-blue got to work as Eran Zahavi headed home a perfect ball from Milson to begin the second half onslaught.

Roy Revivo doubled the advantage just minutes later as Zahavi and Dor Peretz teamed up to help the Israel Youth National Team star score his first in his league debut. Peretz then sent a cross into the middle of the box that Timothy Awany slid into as he put the ball into his own goal while Milson put away an Ido Shachar ball to wrap up the big win.

“How could I not be happy,” Maccabi head coach Robbie Keane began. “We won the first game of the season and we scored a lot of goals. I want to keep the ball moving quickly and not take many touches, those are the types of goals I want to see.”

“The first half we really made sure to pay attention to the small details,” Ashdod coach Eli Levy said. “In the second half we didn’t and against a team like Maccabi Tel Aviv you can’t do that especially at Bloomfield. Hopefully we can take this lesson towards the next game.”