Hapoel Beersheba swamped Bnei Sakhnin 5-0 in Israel Premier League action as Dan Bitton scored a brace to keep the table leader on top of the standings for yet another round of play.
After a fairly even opening 20 minutes, Mathew Cudjoe’s reckless tackle on Helder Lopes saw the midfielder sent off, leaving Sakhnin with only 10 men. With the extra player on the pitch the Southern Reds went to work and grabbed a 1-0 lead via an Igor Zlatanovic header off a Lopes ball while Bitton scored his first of two just ahead of halftime to double the advantage.
Bitton then took care of an errant clearing pass by Sakhnin ’keeper Muhammed Abu Nil in the 48th minute for a 3-0 lead, while Mohammed Knaan’s laser from the top of the box found its way into the goal and Kings Kangwa, who just returned from the African Nations Cup, also scored to polish off the 5-0 win.
Beersheba coach Ran Kozuk spoke about the dominant victory.
“I think even before the red card, we were playing well, we were very committed and focused, and the red card gave us an extra push. I’m happy with the performance and commitment of the players. It was a challenge for us as we talked about the fact that we hadn’t had good away games recently.”
Meanwhile, Beitar Jerusalem defeated Ironi Kiryat Shmona 2-1 as a Yarden Shua penalty and a second-half strike by Omer Atzili gave the yellow-and-black the three points on the road in front of over 10,000 fans at the Netanya Stadium.
Yellow Cards
Barak Itzhaki’s squad held possession for the majority of the first half and grabbed a 1-0 lead via Shua’s penalty at the stroke of half-time. With Aviv Avraham being issued a pair of yellow cards, Shay Barda’s team was reduced to 10 men at the 60th minute, which allowed Atzily to double the advantage almost 10 minutes later.
However, Adrian Uggarriza pulled a goal back as the hosts kept pushing for an equalizer, but second-choice Jerusalem ’keeper Yehonatan Ozer, who started the game in place of the injured Miguel Silva, came up big as the time wound down to seal the victory and keep pace with Beersheba as Beitar remains just two points off the top of the table. Itzhaki talked about his side’s victory.
“The game developed well for us, but towards the end we got a bit mixed up which was a shame. There are games with pressure, but those are also important to win. We’ll fix things for next time and come more prepared for the next match. In games like this, you need to be very mentally prepared, be concentrated and not be too confident in ourselves.“
Elsewhere, Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Hapoel Jerusalem 3-1 to pick up the points and the road win at Teddy Stadium.
Elad Madmon pounced on a poor stop by the Jerusalem ’keeper Nadav Zamir and gave Maccabi a quick 1-0 lead in the third minute, while the visitors doubled the advantage less than 10 minutes later via an Ido Shachar penalty.
Ibeh Ransom pulled a goal back for Jerusalem in the 19th minute and Awaka Ashta had a chance to draw the Capital Reds even from the penalty spot, but Maccabi ’keeper Ofek Melika made a diving save to his right to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the break.
Tyrese Asante added an insurance marker in the 71st minute while Jerusalem was reduced to 10 men five minutes later when Matan Hozez was sent off as the yellow-and-blue took the two-goal win.
Maccabi coach Zarko Lazetic spoke about the victory.
“This was a good win for us. We controlled everything, but after conceding an unnecessary goal, we kept going. At the end of the day we won and we’re already continuing our work going forward.”
Also, Ironi Tiberias stunned Maccabi Netanya 4-0 to take the three points and move further away from the relegation zone.
Itamar Shviro opened the scoring in the 33rd minute while Eliyahu Belilti doubled the advantage with a chip shot over Netanya ’keeper Omer Niron for a 2-0 lead at halftime. Guy Hadida and Wahib Habibala scored second-half goals from inside of the box to polish off the victory.
Tiberias coach Eliran Hodeida commented on the win.
“This was a very important victory for us. We talked beforehand that this game was a crossroads and that we needed to show maturity. These are another three important points for the road ahead. I was impressed by the team commitment. We played good football and were rewarded for the hard work. This is another milestone for the club.”
Hapoel Tel Aviv slipped by Ashdod SC 1-0 as Loizos Loizou scored in the 84th minute as Elyaniv Barda’s team took the points.Barda spoke about the win.
“This was a real test of our character. The red card actually brought us into the game. We brought energy, the crowd lifted the players, we didn’t feel like we were playing with 10 men.”
Finally, Hapoel Petah Tikva defeated Maccabi Bnei Reineh 4-1 as Roee David recorded a brace and an assist on Shavit Mazal’s goal-of-the-year candidate to collect the three points.
After a delay due to a power failure, Mazal scored a brilliant bicycle kick from inside the box off David ball in the sixth minute to set the tone early for Petah Tikva. David then scored a quick pair and gave the hosts a 3-0 lead as the match hit the 20th minute.Ilay Elmkies scored for Bnei Reineh in the 52nd minute, but Chipyoka Songa scored 10 minutes later to wrap up the win.
Petah Tikva bench boss Omer Peretz was delighted with the result.
“A fantastic opening from us, a celebration of football. It’s great to see players who never stop exciting us. We’re using the entire squad with many players who have gotten fewer minutes so far are doing their job. This is an exciting team and it’s fun to be part of this.”