Beitar Jerusalem just keeps on chalking up the wins as they disposed of Kiryat Shemona 2-0 in the Israel State Cup Round of 16 and defeated the northerners for the second time in as many weeks which isn’t something to sneeze at. The yellow-and-black came into the knockout contest with a lineup that included no less than four players who haven’t featured in some time plus keeper Miguel Silva was back in goal after an injury he had sustained in the win over Hapoel Tel Aviv a few weeks ago.

Head Coach Barak Itzhaki’s team didn’t look the best in the first half with so many different players on the on the pitch who have no played together and in some cases not at all this season, but nonetheless they did what was needed and closed out the half with a 1-0 lead on Yarin Levy’s strike. The second half saw young budding star Timothy Muzie find the back of the net after having picked up the hockey assist on the first goal as the 10,000 travelling Beitar fans were more than happy to serenade the midfielder to their hearts delight.

With the win, Beitar will now face Leumit League side Bnei Yehuda in the quarterfinals in a game that will see their owner kickoff against his former club, but all and all, Beitar should make it past the side from Schunat HaTikva fairly easily.

But it’s not just the Cup that the yellow-and-black is moving along in, it’s the league as well as they continue to pile up the wins and the points and one of the reasons they are has been the play of Muzie.

The 24-year old winger began his way in the football world with Maccabi Haifa where he advanced through the ranks of the youth department before turning professional with the Greens in 2020. Muzie was subsequently loaned out to Kfar Saba, Nof Hagalil and Kiryat Shemona before moving to Beitar in 2023.

In his first campaign with the yellow-and-black he had a bit part in the club but last year, Muzie started to really gain experience, playing in 40 games while starting in 27. He scored six goals and added a pair of assists, but only one goal came after matchday 10 while this season thus far he has already scored seven goals across all competitions to go along with 5 assists having played in 23 contests and starting in ten.

This has been a breakout season for Muzie and he has shown his abilities game in and game out.

“I think I’m more focused and I’m keeping things simpler with the actions I am making,” Muzie exclaimed. “I’m not trying to go crazy and do everything, because I have another ten teammates on the pitch who know how to do the job. But I can get to where I need to be and make the moves that are necessary at the end of the day.”

Against Kiryat Shemona, Muzie was extremely active as he is in almost every game as he created havoc for the defenders while being a threat up and down the pitch. He is responsible on both the offensive and defensive sides of the pitch and he is a coach’s delight. He is constantly doing what he can to please as he has said a number of times and most recently after the 1-0 win over Bnei Reineh in which he scored the lone goal, that it doesn’t matter to him if he starts or comes off of the bench.

Muzie always sports an innocent smile that just makes him one of those players that everyone loves to watch and when he stars in a game just like he did against Kiryat Shemona, well, the fans let him know it by singing his name, Muzie, Muzie, Muzie, to their heart’s delight.

When I asked him about how he felt when he heard his name being sung on the top of the supporters lungs, he had this sheepish smile, almost embarrassed that he was the star of the show and didn’t want the light to be shown on him.

“I’m happy with my actions, I’m happy that they’re good, even if sometimes they could be better. In any case, I keep pushing myself and continue through the game with my drive and I’m happy that this showed with scoring the goal.”

There is something very special about this Beitar team and everyone who has been following their exploits this season can feel it, see it and feel it loud and clear. The club is winning games that they would have lost last season and while the second round of league games have been tough thus far, Itzhaki’s crew is finding ways to win.

“Kiryat Shemona is a tough team,” Muzie said. “They made it difficult for us and took away certain things that we had worked on beforehand but I’m happy that we managed to come away with the win. We’re doing the job now even when it’s a tighter game. This starts with better mental preparation in the days leading up to the match and on matchday itself, Barak pushes us and tells us how important these games are. He wants us to show our character, to show that we can win these games even when we’re perhaps not as sharp as we could be. But we know how to finish off games this year and to properly close them out.”

Itzhaki himself has been very pleased as to the way Muzie has been playing and how he pushes the competition on the pitch, “Timo is a great player, along with the entire team as there were several other players who had a very good game. But Timo knows how to come off the bench and how to start as well. He’s a player who works extremely hard and he’s the kind of player who sets an example. Even when he doesn’t play, he pushes the players who do play, because they know there’s a good player sitting on the bench. When he does play, he also challenges them. So I’m very, very happy with him and with a few other players who stood out.”

Muzie’s got to be pretty content with how Itzhaki believes in him and his abilities both when he’s on the pitch and when he’s not which isn’t something to take for granted.

Coming up will be yet another tough game when Beitar heads to the Moshava Stadium for a date with Hapoel Petach Tikva on Saturday afternoon at 3pm. Omer Peretz’s team has been playing quality football of late and are in positon to take one of the last championship playoff spots. Although they came up short against Bnei Reineh in the State Cup Round of 16, they are no doubt a very tough team.

Interestingly enough Muzie scored a hat-trick against Petach Tikva the first time they played one another this season in what was a 5-2 win at the beginning of October. There’s no doubt he would like to repeat the feat but he is also aware that it won’t be a walk in the park this time around as well in a game that will be played at 3pm, a time that Beitar is not used to playing at.

“They’re going through a good period right now and they are playing very good football. This will be a very good game to show our abilities and the strength we have and we’re looking forward to it. While the time is not something that we are used to we’ll come in fully prepared to play this game with high intensity. We’ll come in and put on a performance, play the game we want to play with our fans cheering us on at full strength and we’ll bring the results.”