Maccabi Tel Aviv slipped past Maccabi Netanya 2-1 in a tight game that saw the yellow-and-blue taken to the limit by the diamond city side, however, Kenny Miller’s team remained perfect with their fifth straight win ahead of the international break.

A handball in the box by Maor Levi during arts half injury time allowed Dor Perez to give visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv a 1-0 lead via the penalty spot, but Bassam Zamora’s perfect ball to Oz Bilu in the second half drew the hosts even. However, an active Peretz was pulled down in the box, James Tavernier’s spot kick was saved Silva but the former Rangers legend pounced on the rebound and handed Maccabi the lead and the win.

Maccabi Head Coach Kenny Miller said after the victory, “Another three points. We had a good first half and completely controlled possession. We had several hurdles we needed to overcome. Netanya is a good team, and we also played against them in the Toto Cup semifinal. In these games, we showed a lot of commitment. If you want to compete for the championship, you need to collect points by any means necessary. Elad Madmon came on and helped us maintain possession. We had chances in the second half, but you can’t score three or four goals in every game.”

Netanya head Coach Roni Levy also shared his thoughts, “We didn’t really show up in the first half, but you have to remember that we were playing against Maccabi Tel Aviv, who scored four goals against both Hapoel Beer Sheva and Hapoel Tel Aviv. We knew that as the game progressed, we would have more of a chance. We kept them at a low tempo in the first half, and that suited us. As I felt with our defensive players, we were less successful at moving the ball and that was evident. We improved as the game progressed. I’m very disappointed. This isn’t a game we should have lost.”

Maccabi Haifa won a barnburner of a contest 3-2 against a game Ironi Tiberias as both Andrija Novakovich and Kayes Ganem scored braces for their respective teams at Sammy Ofer Stadium. The Greens grabbed an early lead as newcomer Pedro Brazao fed Novakovich in front of the goal for an easy marker in the 6th minute but Ganem drew the visitors even at 1-1 by the end of the opening half.

Alon Ziov’s squad snatched the lead via the penalty spot after a handball in the box by Nigel Lonwijk allowed Ganem to complete his brace but Barak Bachar’s also scored a penalty as Kenji Gorre slotted the ball home after Novakovich was tripped up in the box. The same Novakovich then made this way into the area and scored his second of the game in the 69th minute to move in front for good and take the 3-points.

Barak Bachar spoke about the thrilling win, “It was a game with a lot of momentum swings, but we felt we could have conceded more and scored more. We did some good things offensively, and it also showed character. After they made it 2–1, we managed to lift ourselves through aggression and winning the ball back. We’re heading into the international break in good shape.”

Alon Ziv also shared his thoughts, “We came to play football and for large parts of the game, we showed that we play good football and want to win. We made too many unnecessary mistakes in possession, which cost us the three points. We conceded an early goal and that’s very difficult for a team, especially in a stadium that pushes its team forward.

Hapoel Beer Sheva got by Kiryat Shemona 1-0 as Amir Tanah’s first half stunner handed the southern reds the points.

“First of all, it was important to get through this difficult week with as many points as possible,” Beer Sheva Head Coach Ran Kozuk said. “It wasn’t an easy game and I’m happy with the points. This is the second time we’ve taken the lead and controlled possession but failed to create enough chances. We’ll need to understand why. After the goal, we needed to use our energy to create a lot more, but we have the international break to improve in that area. I’m extremely happy with the fans, who pushed us in the final minutes and helped the players fight.”

Kiryat Shemona bench boss Shay Barda shared his thoughts after the defeat, “People judge you by the result and that’s fine. We played against a team with a bigger budget than ours that is competing in Europe. We pressed them at Turner from the 30th minute onward. I don’t want to say there was only one team on the pitch, but we caused them a lot of problems and deserved a point.”

Hapoel Jerusalem downed Maccabi Petach Tikva 4-2 as youngster Nadim Warsana scored a hat-trick to give the capital city reds the points just ahead of the international break. Warsana gave Jerusalem a quick 1-0 lead from inside of the box as Andrew Idoko doubled the advantage soon thereafter. The 20-year old added his second of the game in the 34th minute but Jose Cortes and Liran Hazan cut the gap to 3-2 early on in the second half. However, the red hot Warsana came right back down the pitch to add an insurance marker and send Lior Zada’s team to the win.

“It’s a great feeling to head into the international break with a victory,” Zada said. “It was very important for us, especially after the draw in Tiberias, which was really disappointing. I’m happy for the players, who work extremely hard. An away win in a difficult game against a well-coached, good opponent and this victory was important for us.”

“We conceded goals very quickly,” Petach Tikva Head Coach Ziv Arie began. “In four of our five games this season, we’ve conceded in the opening 15 minutes and they’ve been very soft goals. It’s extremely difficult to chase after a game and even when we managed to get back into it and create chances, we conceded the fourth goal immediately after scoring. As long as that continues, it’s a problem.”

Bnei Sakhnin defeated Hapoel Ramat Gan 1-0 thanks to a second half goal by Leeroy Owusu to give Yossi Abukasis’s side their first win of the season.

“When you don’t win, everyone is under pressure,” Abukasis said. “The victory is very important and you could see it in the players, who struggled but after the goal relaxed a little. Credit to the players for their tremendous commitment. There were some good things and some things we need to fix, but the victory will help give us confidence.”

“We conceded precisely during our best spell of the game,” Ramat Gan bench boss Messay Dego said. “We started the second half exactly as we wanted and I warned the players not to switch off because the opponent, despite the period they’re going through, can punish us. After we conceded, we completely lost our structure. I’m very disappointed.”