Maccabi Tel Aviv blanked Hapoel Petach Tikva 2-0 thanks to a pair of second half goals. After a goalless first half that saw Eran Zahavi miss a penalty for the yellow-and-blue, the striker made amends by scoring one in the 55th minute while Dor Turgeman wrapped up the game late to take the 3-points.

“It wasn’t good enough, sloppy performance, too many touches, we lost too many balls, the passing want crisp and we gave up some opportunities. The main thing is we won the game but we have to improve,” Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Robbie Keane said despite the victory.

It was a tough game,” Hpaoel Petach Tikva coach Ofer Tesselpepe said. “The guys really went above and beyond in this game and we had a lot of support in the crowd. They gave it their all. We will start preparing for next week’s game by recovering from this one.”

Maccabi Petach Tikva drubbed Bnei Sakhnin 5-1 as the hosts scored five unanswered gaol and Anas Mahamid bagged a brace in the easy win. Dor Hugi gave Sakhnin an early 1-0 lead but then the flood gates opened with Mahamid drawing his side even in the 17th minute, Idan Gomo scoring minutes later and the former finding the back of the goal deep into first half injury time to give Benny Lam’s squad a 3-1 advantage at the break. Maor Levi then added more insult to injury in the 53rd minute while Saliou Guindo put the finishing touches on a 5-1 victory.

“We have a good team and I told the guys that they played a superb game,” Petach Tikva coach Benny Lam said. “I’m very content with the team and we have been able to react quickly and set up our game well. We put on a good show in this game but you never know what will be in this sport.”

“So may weird things happened in this game,” Sahknin coach Slododan Drapic began. “Three mistakes after we were leading 1-0 let them right back into this game. This should never have happened but it did. We weren’t mature enough after drawing with Maccabi Haifa earlier in the week and we deserved to lose.”

Maccabi Bnei Reineh downed Hapoel Haifa 2-1 as two quick goals just ahead of the halftime break helped Sharon Mimer’s side continue their hot form of late. Tomer Yosefi opened the scoring with an 11th minute goal from the penalty spot to give the Carmel Reds a 1-0 lead, however, thirty minutes later Shlomi Azulay’s free kick strike from 17 meters out drew Bnei Reineh even at 1-1. Mark Koszta then headed home the eventual winner in the 43rd minutes off an Azulay ball as the visitors took the 3-points.

“I felt that I had a strong team after we finished the Toto Cup,” Reineh coach Sharon Mimer explained. “We began the season with four tough games but we came together as a good team that we can all see now. We have high level players here and quality guys who start and that come off of the bench in order to finish games off properly.”

“I think we started the game off well and we had some quality chances to increase our lead,” Haifa coach Roni Levy said; “But then we gave up two easy goals that should have never happened. Sometimes things just hit a rough patch and I am disappointed as we had a very large crowd.”

Hapoel Beer Sheva dropped Hapoel Jerusalem 3-0 as the southern reds collected the 3-points following a recent tough stretch of results. Antonio Sefer gave the hosts a quick 1-0 lead in the 5th minute while Miguel Vitor headed home a fire kick ahead of the halftime to double Elyaniv Barda’s side’s advantage. Patryk Klimala polished off the win with a goal from in close in the 80th minute to wrap up the victory.

“The team has many expectations at the start of the season and we had the fans backing but in this game the ball finally went into the goal. We have a good and strong squad and we will get the results as the season continues on,” Beer Sheva coach Elyaniv Barda explained.

“We didn’t create enough chances and we are very soft both defensively and offensively,” a disappointed Jerusalem coach Ziv Arie said. “We gave up a set piece goal and we are just giving up way too easy goals. We aren’t showing enough quality whatsoever but we have good players and they need to do their jobs.”

Hapoel Hadera slipped by Ashdod 1-0 on an Elad Madmon goal in the 68th minute for their first win of the season.

“Elad Madmon scored a great goal and I am so happy for him,” Hadera coach Niso Avitan said. “In our previous games where the results didn’t go our way we played well and the pressure did us in. But this was a crucial game against one of our direct opponents in the relation battle and while we didn’t play great the result is above all.”

“This hasn’t been a great start to the season,” Ashdod assistant coach Klemi Saban said. “This was a home game and we tried to create chances for ourselves. We had a few and could have scored but Hadera had one good chance and they found the back of the goal. We have to now look ahead.”