Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Hapoel Haifa 3-1 as a Dor Peretz second half brace kept the yellow-and-blue’s title aspirations alive by collecting the 3-points. Dor Hugi gave the Carmel reds a surprise lead early on as he scored from in close but Weslley Patati found the equalizer in the 22nd minute as the two sides headed into halftime knotted up at 1-1. With Maccabi looking to take the victory, Peretz put home a Gaby Kanichowsky ball in the 61st minute while the same Peretz headed home the insurance marker just three minutes later to close out the victory.

“We are still alive and in the race,”Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Zarko Lazetic began. “We sent a good message, that we are there and are in it. Many congratulations to our players and also to the players of Hapoel Haifa. They played well against Beer Sheva and in this game and we felt that they have no pressure and every match is 50 50, especially in the first half. It was an excellent challenge and we achieved an excellent victory.”

“Disappointed with the result,” Haifa bench boss Roni Levy began. “I am satisfied with the way we played until we conceded the goal to make 2-1 and then we weren’t organized properly and we were exposed. We did not play the way I like. We will learn from games like this and improve.”

Maccabi Netanya stunned Hapoel Beer Sheva 2-1 as Maxim Plakuschenko’s late second half injury time strike gave the diamond city squad the win and the 3-points. Dan Biton helped the southern reds to a 1-0 lead from the penalty spot but Daniel Dappa drew the hosts even at the stroke of halftime to head into the break deadlocked at 1-1. Carlos Ponck was issued a red card in the 94th minute reducing Beer Sheva to 10-men and Netanya took full advantage of situation as Plakuschenko’s brilliant free kick allowed Yossi Abuksis’s team to snatch all of the points.

“Even when we were behind, we played football at our best against a very strong team,” Netanya Head Coach Yossi Abuksis began. “Sometimes in football you don’t have to do what you want but what is necessary. We made a substitution in the 30th minute and it worked. Throughout this entire playoff, we came into every game and tried our best. Today we were better than last week, we have 4 more games and we will give our maximum.”

Beer Sheva bench boss Ran Kozuk said, “As long as we stay in our zone, we are 10 levels better than Netanya. However, we weren’t in the zone twice and those were the only times that we were in danger. We played a game that was not mature enough in terms of intelligence, but we are a strong team. It is okay to lose, but we have to move on. It will be tough until the end and we will have to be there.”

Maccabi Haifa slipped by Beitar Jerusalem 2-1 at Teddy Stadium in the Capital City, however, the result was overshadowed by a number of incidents that saw a 7.5-year old boy having to go to the hospital after being injured by flares. The Greens took a 2-0 first half lead on goals by Xander Severina and Dean David while the hosts pulled a marker back via a Yarden Shua second half penalty but that was as close as the yellow-and-black would get as Barak Bachar’s side moved 5-points clear of Beitar as they look to solidify third place.

The match had to be halted early on for close to half an hour due to the flares that were set off in the stadium by the fans as referee Snir Levy ordered all of the players to clear the pitch. During the stoppage the young boy that was hit by a flying fireworks suffered 2nd degree burns to his chest as Magen David Adom personnel acted quickly to offer immediate medical care to the child and then evacuate him to Hadassah Hospital.

Bnei Sakhnin and Ashdod played to a goalless draw as both sides split the points for their efforts.

“We weren’t afraid of losing and we wanted to win,” Ashdod bench boss Haim Silvas said. “Sakhnin were organized very well and closed all the areas for us to make an impact in. As time went on, they didn’t want to go forward and that made it difficult for us to rush and find our areas, even when they already had the ball. We need to know how to find a way to break this. We dominated the game, but it was difficult for us to get into situations because we didn’t have the space to do so. Sakhnin prepared properly for this game and it was very difficult for us.”

“I think Ashdod didn’t create a single situation,” Sakhnin Head Coach Menachem Koretzky said. “I would have preferred to win, but things depend on us as well so I’m satisfied. We know these are bottom-line battles and that they had crazy momentum. The first half was good, the second was less offensive, but I’m very satisfied with the defensive aspect.”

Ironi Tiberias defeated Maccabi Bnei Reineh 2-1 to take the points and move closer to staving off relegation. Stanislav Bilekyi opened the scoring in the 10th minute as Abu Farki found the equalizer 25 minutes later but Waheeb Habiballah scored the winner in the 60th minute to hand Tiberias the win and the points.

Tiberias coach Eliran Hodeida said, “ This is an important step towards staying up and avoiding relegation, but there is nothing else to be happy about. The work is really not finished. I am happy with the victory, the attitude of the players and the football we showed at times, but as long as we don’t stay in the league, we did nothing.”

Sharon Mimer, the Bench Reineh bench boss said, “Our injury list is very significant and that has a great impact on us. Despite this, we were competitive and were in the game. The start of the second half wasn’t as good as the first half and that is what lost us the game. We lost a lot of balls and it took us off the pace. It’s a shame, because in the first half we were good and in certain minutes even better. We will come and play the best football we can until the end of the season.”

Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Petach Tikva drew 0-0 as each team took home a point in a game that took place in the capital city.
Maccabi Petah Tikva coach Noam Shoham concluded, “We had 17 shots on goal and nine on target while there were only two shots on target by Hapoel Jerusalem. Of course I’m not happy. It was a great day for our goalkeeper, he saved a pair of tough chances, but there’s nothing we can do – I’m worried about our ability to score which was especially true in the second half. We’ll be in Ashdod next week and we’ll have to win the game to stay in the league. There’s no other choice.”

Jerusalem bench boss Ziv Arie said, “I have no complaints about the approach we took to the game and the pace at which we played. We could have done better and won, but they also had chances – so a draw is a reflection of the game that was played.”

Hapoel Hadera slipped by Kiryat Shemona 1-0 as the relegated club took advantage of a 5th minute red card to Sekou Bangoura to record the win as Lisav Eissat scored in the 54th minute of play.