Maccabi Tel Aviv ended Hapoel Hapoel Hadera’s Championship Playoff dreams as the yellow-and-blue took the 2-0 win for their 7th victory in a row. Djorde Jovanovic continued to score as the Serbian striker jumped all over a rebound and smashed it into the Hadera goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. Just four minutes later Jovanovic played facilitator as he fed Stipe Perica a brilliant ball that he brought down with his body and put it by Adi Tabachnik to give laden Krstajic a 2-0 lead that handed his club the 3-points.

“It’s difficult to win 7 league games in a row and everyone thought we were out of the championship race but we are here,” Krstajic explained. “With hard work in training my players showed that we have character. We controlled the game the entire time and went up 2–0 in the first half. We had a chance to end the game much earlier but Hadera had something to fight for as they looked to make the playoffs.”

“I felt good about my team and the first ten minuets we had a number of chances to score,” Hadera coach Menachem Koretzkly said. “We created opportunities and we fought hard. We missed out on the Championship Playoffs and we were in the top 6 for most of the season and now we will have to finish the season as best as possible. We were right there and I am proud of my players.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva downed Hapoel Nof HaGalil 2-0 as Ramzi Safouri scored a brace to keep the pressure on table leaders Maccabi Haifa.

“We had a very good first half and we created a ton of quality chances to score,” Beer Sheva coach Elyaniv Barda said. “We finished the game off in the second half and I have to really credit the players who came into the game really prepared. We have had issues creating opportunities but when we do we know how to score.”

“We didn’t deserve to win but with a bit off quality maybe we could have done something,” Nof HaGalil bench boss Shay Barda explained. “Now we have to turn our attention to the playoffs. We aren’t under pressure and we are working from morning to night. We will fix things up and we aren’t raising our hands.”

Maccabi Haifa slipped by Beitar Jerusalem 1-0 as Mavis Tchibota scored his first goal since returning to Israel as he found the lone marker of the match in the 41st minute to take the 3-points and stay atop the table ahead of Hapoel Beer Sheva by 4-points.

“First off, every time you earn 3-points it’s very important because last game we were winning 1-0 and we needed up conceding a goal,” Haifa coach Barak Bachar explained. “Today we won this game by the skin of our teeth but we are starting the playoffs on the right foot. We had a good first half and we pressed while also being very responsible.”

“We played better than we have but we still didn’t earn any points,” Beitar coach Yossi Abuksis said. “I am proud as to how the players fought hard but we need to take points. If we can continue to play like this with our fans there is no question that we will stay in the league.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Netanya played to a wild 2-2 draw up at Sammy Ofer Stadium due to a radius penalty handed to the Reds. Ben Bitton stripped Eden Kartzev of the ball and made his way towards the Netanya goal as he unleashed a beauty of a strike to beat Dani Amos and give Kobi Refuah’s team 1-0 lead in the 35th minute. However, things went from and bad to worse for Netanya when Raz Shlomo picked up a pair of yellow cards in under 3 minutes to leave the diamond city side with only ten men for the entire second half.

Adi Gutlieb bumped the Reds lead up to 2-0 with a bicycle kick goal in the 61st minute as they looked to be causing to the victory. But Benny Lam’s team had other ideas as Eden Kartzev scored from the penalty spot to cut the lead while Aviv Avraham scored off a Patrick Twumasi free kick in the 80th minute to stun Hapoel and earn a split of the points.

“I have to give credit to everyone associated with this team even when we were down I didn’t worry and I believed in my players,” an excited Netanya coach Benny Lam said. “We have a good team and one that is healthy. It’s been a long time since we lost a player to a red card but the way we played filled our fans with a ton of pride and we will always play the game until the final whistle.”

“We were winning 2-0 and then we missed and missed, but to give up the goals we did was tough to see,” a frustrated Refuah said. “It really disturbs me but we have to continue on despite that I am disappointed in the result. We deserve to be in the Championship Playoffs but it was frustrating to miss the goal and draw against a team that was down to ten players.”

Hapoel Jerusalem slipped by Hapoel Haifa 2-1 as Ofek Bitton had a hand in both goals to help the capital city reds move out of the relegation zone with their first away win of the season. William Agada opened the scoring as Bitton sent him a terrific ball in the 7th minute to grab a quick 1-0 lead for Ziv Arie’s squad. But Hanan Maman drew Elisha Levy’s team even in the 33rd minute with a half bicycle kick goal to head into the break all knotted up at 1-1. However, Bitton was at the center of attention once again as the midfielder beat Haifa keeper Ohad Levita off a corner kick to take the win and the massively important 3-points.

“The team that wanted it more won,” Levy lamented. “We played without energy and that was clear. We had chances in the first half but we had almost none in the second. This was a very weak game by our team and we deserved to lose. I am very disappointed for our fans.”

“I don’t have time to be happy,” Arie said. “We knew what to expect and that Haifa was in very good shape. But we also were aware that our attacking game had to be good. We are focusing on our own play and we have another 8 battles. We want to stay in this league and we feel that we deserve to as well.”

Bnei Sakhnin downed Maccabi Petah Tikva 1-0 as Odah Marshal latched onto a Beram Kayal through ball to give the Galilee squad the victory.

“I don’t want to take away anything from the other teams but in seven money time games our team won five and drew twice,” Sakhnin coach Haim Silvas said. “When I arrived in the middle of the season this team was in a slump but we pulled it together and beat a team that had been in good shape in order to punch our ticket to the Championship Playoffs.”

“We paid for this loss with one defensive mistake and we were under pressure,” Petah Tikva coach Nir Klinger said. “We had chances to score in both halves but the pressure on us definitely influenced how we played. We will have to continue on with a tough relegation battle.”

Kiryat Shemona blanked Ashdod 2-0 as the northerners saw an own goal give them the lead in the first half while Roie Kehat added an insurance marker in the second to pick up the win and the 3-points at the port city.

“There are still plenty of points to go and now that we have 33 we have some breathing room ahead of the relegation playoffs,” Kiryat Shemona coach Slobodan Drapic explained after the victory. “The players gave it their all and we were the more dominant team. We deserved to win.”

“We are in a slump and we have to find a way out of it,” Ashdod bench boss Ran Ben Shimon said. Sometimes you need a win just to bring upon a positive atmosphere to jump start the squad. We had a catastrophic first half and we played better in the second but we are conceding goals on set pieces and then we have to always chase the after the opposition.”