Maccabi Tel Aviv slipped by Hapoel Beer Sheva 1-0 on an Eran Zahavi header in the 37th minute to hand the yellow-and-blue the 3-points and the win to stay comfortably atop the table.

“The first twenty minutes were pretty good on our part but when Beer Sheva went down to ten men we mad the game tougher for ourselves,” Maccabi coach Robbie Keane said. “I like the fact that we didn’t concede a goal, how we played and the character that the players showed over the course of the last few minutes of the match. I have waited since I arrived in order to see this character.”

“I have really tough guys, each one of them,” Beer Sheva coach Elyaniv Barda said. “We were able to create when we were reduced to 10-men late in the game. We had opportunities and were also better down a man. We had some traffic chances but they sent one ball into the box and scored.”

Maccabi Haifa overwhelmed Ashdod 4-0 thanks to a quartet of second half goals with both Dean David and Frantzdy Pierrot spring braces to take the win and the 3-points. Following a scoreless opening half, David broke the ice in the 63rd minute while Pierrot added a quick pair as the former polished the game off with a strike in second half injury time to notch the victory.

“We said prior to the game that we needed a quick goal or else the game becomes more difficult,” Greens head coach Messay Dego began. “At halftime I told the guys that at some point we may lose our patience and then Ashdod would take advantage of that, so I am happy that was not the case. The first goal was important and from there our energy took us to three more goals.”

“Maccabi Haifa held onto the ball and our game plan worked over the course of the first half,” Ashdod coach Eli Levy said. “We had a number of chances that we could have scored on but we didn’t take advantage of them and we paid the price for that. This shouldn’t have been a 4-0 game.”

Beitar Jerusalem blanked Maccabi Netanya 3-0 to take the points for Yossi Abuksis’s squad. Yarden Shua gave the yellow-and-black a 1-0 lead thanks to a magnificent through ball by Ben Bitton while Timothy Muzi doubled the advantage early on in the second half form inside the area. Adi Yona scored the third marker in teh 81st minute to wrap up the win and the 3-points.

“This was better than how we have played up to now, certainly since the break,” Abuksis said. “We still had our tough moments but this was much better. Maccabi Netanya came to press us but we knew how to find our way our of it. Finally we didn’t give up a goal and all in all we had ouse good chances.”

“We were not good,” Netanya coach Ron Kozuk said. “We have to pick ourlsves up and get ready for the east game and quickly forget about this one. After the first goal we needed to be mature and know how to get back into this game and not give up a second and third. This was just a very bad game from us.”

Hapoel Haifa and Bnei Sakhnin drew 1-1 as the clubs split the points for their efforts. After a goalless first half, Guy Melamed fed Mohammed Kamara the ball with a terrific pass that the latter put behind Mohammed Abu Nil to give the Carmel Reds a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute. However, Maroun Gantus found the 77th minute set piece equalizer to snatch a point.

“This was a weird game,” Sakhnin coach Slobodan Draper began, “We were dangerous and controlled the pace of polar but on the counter attacks they were very effective and they are where they are in the standings because of that. We were able to get back into the game and the guys showed a lot of character.”

“This was a tough away match against a very good team at home,” Haifa bench boss Roni Levy said. “We had opportunities to double the advantage but we conceded on a set piece and that’s disappointing. Sakhnin sent players up and we tried to defend but we gave up a goal that we just shouldn’t have.”