Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bnei Sakhnin drew 1-1 as each side scored in the second half to split the points. After a goalless first half, the yellow-and-blue struck first as Osher Davida found the back of the goal for a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute. However, minutes later Milson was issued a red card and reduced Robbie Keane’s squad to 10-men for the balance of the game. With a man advantage, Sakhnin’s Hassan Hilo scored off a corner kick to draw even and earn a split of the points.

“I am very content with the 1-1 draw against the table leaders in Maccabi Tel Aviv. This is a very young team and one that is new that came together this season. Some games we are winning others not but we are maturing as a club. You have to be 100% focused for 90+ minutes against a team like Maccabi.”

“They could have scored to make it 2-1,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Robbie Keane said. Everything whet against us in this game and these could be important points. There’s no doubt that had we not been issued a red card we would have won the game. These games are always difficult.”

Beitar Jerusalem and Ashdod played to a dry goalless draw at Teddy Stadium in the capital city as each team took home a point. 

“We controlled the pace of play throughout the game and we could have won,” Beitar Jerusalem head coach Barak Itzahki said. “We have a tough pitch to play on but we will need to find a way to correct this in the future. We have been able to score goals but mostly they have come on the road. This was a tough game.”

“I’m happy with the result,” Ashdod head coach Eli Levi began. “We have to be happy with each point and the guys played like real men. We are already looking ahead to next week as we have one point more than Hapoel Tel Aviv and that’s really critical for us especially for the morale of the guys.”

Maccabi Petach Tikva dropped Hapoel Hadera 4-0 as Anas Mahamid scored a brace to help his squad to the win and the 3-points. Mahamid scored a quick pair of goals to give the hosts a 2-0 lead by the 26th minute while Maor Levi added his team’s third marker at the stroke of halftime. Yarden Cohen found the back of the goal late in the second half to close out the win.

“This game got away from us right from the get go,” Hadera coach Haim Silvas commented. “Everything that doesn’t represent us occurred in this game and I am very disappointed as everything fell apart. The red card was really bad but we have to turn our sights quickly to next week.”

“This wasn’t an easy game for us,” Petach Tikva coach Ron Kozuk said. “I’m happy that the guys really played well and played our game. We pressed high, created chances, but staying up will not be simple.”