There’s a saying in Hebrew about recording a victory in a non-dominant fashion, “A small, but big win” and that’s exactly how you’d describe Beitar Jerusalem’s 2-1 victory over Kiryat Shemona on the road.

Beitar came into the clash after having knocked off Hapoel Tel Aviv 1-0 in a rain storm at a sold out Teddy Stadium just three days earlier and looked to be a step slow on the Netanya Stadium pitch which is serving as the northerners home since the war with Hezbollah damaged their facility by the border with Lebanon. Barak Itzhaki’s side was lucky to get a favorable penalty call helped by the VAR that allowed Yarden Shua to give the visitors, who were playing in front of over 10,000 away travelling fans, a 1-0 lead just ahead of the break.

The yellow-and-black doubled their advantage via Omer Atzily after Aviv Avraham was sent off with a second yellow card, reducing Shay Barda’s team to 10-men. But instead of taking the bull by the horns, Beitar gave up a goal on a rare miscue by the central defenders to cut their lead to 2-1 as they clung on for what seemed to be dear life over the final twenty plus minutes or so until the final whistle was blown.

“Every goal we concede annoys me,” Itzhaki said. “Especially when we concede against a team with ten players, and especially when the game is in our hands and we need to move the ball more, control the tempo, and make them run. We made a mistake, we paid for it with the goal we conceded, but again, thankfully we won and that’s very, very important for us.”

It was crystal clear as to how tired Beitar was and Itzhaki made some wholesale substitutions to try and reinvigorate his lineup which to some extent worked out as they did notch the win instead of giving up the equalizer which is something that last season’s version of the club would have done.

“That’s very, very important,” Itzhaki said. “Again, we came here after a game just a few days ago, a very high-profile game. When you come after games like that, it takes a lot of mental work, how to bring the players back down to earth, how to create the control we need off the pitch, and how that shows on the pitch. This was a super meaningful win for us.”

But this year’s team is it last year’s and there is something very special that is happening with this group of players from top to bottom as they race towards the championship.

Perhaps Itzhaki doesn’t want to utter the word championship, but the facts are the facts. When it looks like they are running for the championship, when it smells like they are running for the championship and when it tastes like they are running for the championship, well then, they are running for the championship.

Truth be told, the minute that sports director Almog Cohen was able to pry away central defender Luka Gadrani from Kairat Almaty the die had been cast that Beitar was going to be a serious threat as all of sudden the back line had stabilized with Brayan Carabali becoming the centre back that the club had thought he could be when he was signed while sending Gil Cohen and Ori Dahan to the bench.

The next move was inking Boris Enow before the transfer window even opened, as owner Barak Abramov okayed a deal to purchase the midfielder’s contract from DC United after having starred for Maccabi Netanya prior to his move to the MLS. The Cameroonian knows the Israeli league and has a relationship with Cohen from his days at the diamond city and makes all the sense in the world for Itzhaki’s squad.

But Beitar isn’t finished just yet as they can feel, smell and taste that title that is up for grabs being just a pair of points behind Hapoel Beer Sheva. There I’ll be another move to come as they want to also bring in some more attacking power up front.

Depth is what Beitar lacks the most and Cohen along with Itzhaki are in the midst of trying to add that dimension to the team because when one looks at the squad it’s very clear that there is a need to shore up various positions in order for the club to compete for the championship. But it’s not just the league title, it’s also the Israel State Cup which Beitar will continue on in the round of 16. There’s plenty of games to go and the yellow-and-black must have personnel in order to be able to be in it to win it.

Itzhaki is still trying to find his right back and continues to play both Roie Elimelech and Grigori Morozov while the left side has been adopted by Yarden Cohen who has been superb all season long in a position that is not easy to fill. There are other attackers who can come in off of the bench like Timoti Muzie in place of veteran Dor Micha, but the bench is thin and the Beitar management knows it.

In goal, Beitar had been used to Miguel Silva who on some days can be an all-world keeper making incredible saves and stops that lead one to believe that he is Superman. However, there are also days that leave you scratching your head and thanking the good lord that somehow the ball didn’t land up in the back of the goal.

Silva was out for the Kiryat Shemona clash after getting knocked up in the win over Hapoel Tel Aviv and while Silva could have probably gone should it have come to it. But Itzhaki decided to give 25-year old Yehonatan Ozer his Premier League debut after the shot stopper had spent a number of seasons in the Leumit League, Israel’s second division where he featured for Hapoel Afula and Kfar Qasem.

Ozer came in cool, calm and collected and made whatever save that was necessary, with the goal conceded clearly not his fault. But it wasn’t just the saves he made, it was the foot game, it was setting up play in the back and it was being able to communicate with the central defenders which he did to perfection.

“He had a solid game, a good game and I’m very, very happy for him,” Itzhaki exclaimed. “In the end he was there when the team needed him, and I’m happy for him. Being a second goalkeeper isn’t simple. You train all the time but don’t get opportunities and when it comes, you have to be ready. The fact that he trains at a very high level and pushes himself, and also pushes Miguel forward, because the second goalkeeper has another role, to create calm and confidence and maybe be the first goalkeeper’s best friend. He does that well and I’m very, very happy for him, he really deserves it.”

The bottom line is, Beitar has now won four straight league games and five in a row across all competitions in addition to be winning plenty of games away from Teddy Stadium where they’ll be back this coming Saturday night when they host Maccabi Bnei Reineh in what may be yet another sold out affair as the fans can’t get enough of the yellow-and-black.

“At the end of the day, the results speak for themselves,” Itzhaki comments. “In away games we know how to get the points even when it’s been tough and I’m happy about that. Our winning percentage isn’t as good at home and we need to make sure that this changes.”

“As for the fans, every week I stand here and say that no matter which stadium we’re in in Israel, we feel like it’s a home ground. I think today a record was broken here for away fans in a game, especially here in Netanya. We feel the support and we need to embrace it every day and appreciate where we are. I’m sure the players do that, I as a coach definitely do and appreciate every moment and I hope it only continues.”