State Cup action was at the forefront of Israeli soccer action this weekend as the 14 Premier League teams joined 18 clubs from the lower divisions as the Round of 32 took place.
In one of the dramatic results, Beitar Jerusalem defeated Ironi Tiberias 2-1 in driving rain up north at Nof HaGalil.
Omer Atzili scored a brilliant goal from midfield as the yellow-and-black needed to come back from a 1-0 deficit to advance to the Round of 16. Guy Hadida scored a stunning left-foot strike from the right side of the box to give the Kineret side a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
However, less than 10 minutes later, Atzili lined up the ball from midfield and sent a swerving low liner past the Tiberias goalkeeper Ido Sharon in one of the goals of the season to draw Beitar even. Atzili then had his part in the winning goal as his free kick went into the box, was mishandled by the ’keeper, went off of Niv Gotlieb and into the goal for the 2-1 lead in the 70th minute which held up over the final 20 minutes to hand Beitar the win.
Beitar Jerusalem coach Barak Itzhaki spoke about the win.
“We may not have had the best game, but we created some chances in what was a tough State Cup match. We went down early on and we had to come back to get this win. Hapoel Tel Aviv is coming up on Thursday and when we lost to them in the league that was when we started to really raise our play and we were able to beat them to win the Toto Cup.”
Ironi Tiberias bench boss Eliran Hodeida lamented his side’s defeat.
“We gave up two goals that were gifts. We could have gotten more out of the first half and it’s disappointing that we lost. Now we have to focus on the league and make sure that we remain in the top division which is what I believe will be the case.”
Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv trounced Hapoel Haifa 5-0 as Osher Davida scored a brace while Ido Shachar, Helio Varela and Sayed Abu Farchi also found the back of the goal to take the win.
Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Zarko Lazetic spoke after the match.
“It was a good win for us; now we’ll focus on our next game, but really nothing changed, it’s just one game. We won and that’s good, now we need to focus on the next match.”
Up in the Galilee, Maccabi Haifa crushed Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 8-1 as Dolev Haziza and Guy Melamed each scored braces while Silva Kani found the back of the goal in the opening minute and Kenji Gorre also scored to go along with a pair of owngoals to take the easy win over the Liga Alef side.
“I’ve never had an eight-goal game in my career,” Greens coach Barak Bachar said. “But that’s not the point because the most important thing is that we came prepared, the players understood there was no room for mistakes and it’s not easy to play in difficult conditions with rain and wind. That really encourages me going forward.”
Also, Hapoel Beersheba slipped by Hapoel Sderot 2-1 as the Southern Reds had plenty to handle from the Liga Bet squad, but were able to come away with the win and advance to the next round.
Mohammad Kanaan scored off an early penalty due to a handball in the first half, but then lost defender Ofir Davidzada to a straight red card in the 16th minute when his reckless tackle left the hosts with 10 men. Miguel Vitor hammered home a header off a free kick by Kanaan to double the advantage in the second half before Gal Aviv pulled back a late marker to cut the lead to a lone goal, but it was not enough for the lower division side to shock the Premier League table leader.
Hapoel Beersheba coach Ran Kozuk discussed the match following the victory.
“This game started very well for us. We were in rhythm, we were awarded a penalty and took the lead and we created a few more chances, but then the red card came and put us under pressure and we had a tough time. Even with 10 players, regardless of who the opponent is, we have to stick to our principles and there were parts where that didn’t happen. But the bottom line is that in the cup you need to advance to the next round, especially when players who don’t usually play featured in this game.”
'Wasn't even a foul'
At Bloomfield Stadium, Hapoel Tel Aviv blanked Ashdod SC 3-0 as second-half substitute Roy Korine scored a pair of late goals and Anas Mahamid slotted home the third marker after a red card reduced the port city side to 10 men.
Tel Aviv coach Elyaniv Barda spoke about the win.
“We had some good minutes in the first half and the red card certainly helped us but Ashdod caused us all kinds of problems as they are a top league team and most importantly we advanced to the next round. We always try to control the game and we were able to do that in this win although there were also some parts of the first half where we dropped off a bit. We built a very strong squad and everyone will have their opportunity as we will need the entire team as the league is a marathon.”
Ashdod’s Haim Silvas reflected on the second yellow card that was handed to Mohammed Amer and the defeat for his side.
“It wasn’t a yellow card and there wasn’t even a foul. I’ve been in this game for many years and I never want to criticize the referees, but it was a questionable foul at best..”
In other State Cup play, Maccabi Netanya took out Bnei Jaffa 6-0 as Basam Zaarura scored a brace, Hapoel Jerusalem beat Hapoel Umm al-Fahm 2-0, Ironi Kiryat Shmona mounted a comeback with a trio of late goals to down Hapoel Ramat Gan 3-2 while Bnei Sakhnin was bounced from the competition falling to Leumit League outfit Maccabi Jaffa 2-0 on goals by Yoel Abuhatzira and Gil Itzhak.
Also, Hapoel Petah Tikva slipped by Hapoel Karmiel 2-1 thanks to markers from Golan Beni and Chipyoka Songa, Bnei Yehuda got past Maccabi Kiryat Ata-Bialik 2-1, Hapoel Ra’anana downed Kiryat Gat 2-2 (4-3 on penalties), Maccabi Herzliya disposed of Kfar Saba 4-1 as Tomer Barzilai scored a hat trick, Maccabi Bnei Reineh slipped by Hapoel Kfar Shalem thanks to Junior Prius’s 10th-minute goal, Kfar Qasim took care of Holon Yermiyahu 3-1 and Hapoel Kfar Saba cruised past SC Dimona 3-1.
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