Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Ashdod 3-2 as a trio of goal-scorers found the back of the net for the yellow-and-blue to take the 3-points and the win. Emir Sahiti opened the scoring as he slotted home a beautiful pass by Roy Revivo, but Ibrahim Diakite hammered home header to draw the visitors even at the 37th minute. However, just ahead of the break, Revivo sent a magnificent long ball to Sayed Abu Farhi who found the back of the goal to send the hosts into halftime holding a 2-1 advantage. An active Sahiti sent Helio Varela a perfect ball in the box and slotted it behind the Ashdod keeper to go up 3-1 but once again, Eylkn Almog cut the gap back down to a lone goal, however, 3-2 would be a close as they would get as Maccabi took the victory. 

“I think we created a lot of chances and we should have scored more,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Ronny Delia said. “We needed to close out the game earlier, but we created many chances and scored three goals, so there are a lot of positive things. Still, we need to kill the game off earlier.”

Ashdod bench boss Avi Avinu commented on his sides’s performance, “I think the two goals we conceded were a bit naïve. Once you manage to get back into the game against Maccabi Tel Aviv at Bloomfield, you can’t concede a goal like that. Until the very last minute we were in the game. There’s nothing we can do now, we’ll take the positives.”

Hapoel Petach Tikva slipped by Maccabi Haifa 1-0 as Mamady Diarra scored the lone goal of the match in the 59th minute to take the points and stay in the Championship Playoff picture.

Hapoel Petach Tikva Head Coach Omer Peretz discussed the victory, “It’s a great feeling to experience these type of things. It wasn’t simple here and the players suffered on the pitch. We knew we’d get one or two chances in the second half and I’m happy we did. It wasn’t great football from our side, but at this stage every game is like a cup final and most importantly we want to bring home the points.”

Maccabi Haifa Head Coach Barak Bachar talked about the defeat, “We reached enough chances to win the game. We deserved at least two goals in this match. We made a mistake and conceded and that happens. Hapoel Petach Tikva is a dangerous team, but we weren’t exposed for most of the game. When you lose it’s frustrating, but if we continue with this ability, we’ll keep progressing.”

Bnei Sakhnin and Hapoel Tel Aviv played to a goalless draw as the sides split the points. 

“We knew this was the type of game we were expecting,” Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda said. “We knew we would have to create a lot in the attacking third and I think we created enough. When you don’t score in games like this, they can also turn against you, so we knew how to preserve the 0–0 draw. We brought on all the tools at our disposal and usually it works, today was not one of those days.”

Sakhnin bench boss Yossi Abukasis commented on his debut, “Other than the result, you can’t take much from this game as it wasn’t quality football from us. The club has been through an unpleasant period in every respect and the players lack confidence from the recent stretch. Aside from the result, we were very tactical; we weren’t good with the ball, but it’s not a bad result at all.”

Ironi Tiberias defeated Maccabi Bnei Reineh 3-2 as Guy Hadida scored the winning goal in second half injury time to give the Kineret side the 3-points and the dramatic victory. Following a goalless first half, Stanislav Bilenkyi gave Tiberias the lead but Asil Kanani knotted the game up at 1-1 in the 74th minute. However, the Tiberias captain Guy Hadida nodded home the winner off a Eli Balilty corner in the 95th minute to snatch the points and the win for Eliran Hodeida’s team. 

“We deserved to win throughout the entire match,” Hodeida began. “We controlled the game, but apparently we enjoy these tight matches and dragging everything to the last second. The goal is the result, no matter how we achieved it. I’m happy the players showed character in a critical minute and won the game.”

“It’s very frustrating to concede in such a minute,” Reineh’s new bench boss Lior Reuven said. “We could have finished with a draw and that would have reflected what happened on the pitch but we will now encourage our players and never give up. We’ll do everything to keep the team in the league.”

Kiryat Shemona blanked Hapoel Jerusalem 1-0 as Ariel Sheratzky scored the game’s only goal in the second half to hand the northerners the 3-points and the win.

“This is a very important win,” Kiryat Shemona Head Coach Shai Barda began. “We really wanted it and we also recorded a clean sheet after a very long time without one. Now our focus is on Bnei Sakhnin, so there’s not much time to celebrate.”

Ziv Arie summed up the loss, “We didn’t play badly, but we didn’t take our chances and now we have to move on. I’m always satisfied with my players’ effort and I’m not worried about anything.”