It was an odd sight, to be sure, that of Beitar Jerusalem fans rooting on Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Reds’ matchup against Hapoel Beersheba at Bloomfield Stadium earlier this week.
But that is what it was.
Yellow-and-black supporters, as well as the players and most probably head coach Barak Itzhaki, had to be thrilled after Tel Aviv scored a match-winning goal deep into second-half injury time to take a 2-1 victory, thereby denying Beersheba the chance of staying in first place and ceding it to Beitar.
As Amit Lemkin’s strike crossed Niv Eliasi’s goal line, a marker that was assisted by Liran Rotman, who had been the tragic figure in the State Cup Derby defeat on penalties less than a week ago, it was as if the championship celebrations were already under way by the Jerusalem faithful.
Beitar, for the first time in what seemed to be eons, was atop the table with the season having just completed Matchday 19, as it took over sole possession of first place.
For the Beitar fans, this was a dream, something that they had not even been able to fathom for close to two decades. Everything was falling into place just as the soccer gods finally wanted it to.
Sure, it’s still midseason, but the winds have been blowing in Jerusalem’s favor now for the past few months as it stalked Beersheba with win after win – six victories in a row in league play while not having lost since the 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Southern Reds back on November 1. Itzhaki’s charges are in fact closing in on three months without a loss, which is without question an extraordinary feat.
No one in their right mind would have thought that Beitar was really going to be this good, but here it is, competing for the championship despite its head coach not wanting to utter the word or entertain the thought.
Last season, Itzhaki’s first in charge, was a success as the club finished in fourth place, which earned it a qualification place in Europe. However, Beitar did finish 27 points off of table-leader Maccabi Tel Aviv and ended the season without a victory in its final five matches and only eight points of a possible 30 in the Championship Playoffs. Add to that a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Hapoel Beersheba in the Israel State Cup Final and Itzhaki’s standing was on very shaky ground as the campaign came to a disappointing and crashing end.
It was certainly not the way the bench boss who had won a title or three in his playing days with both Maccabi Tel Aviv and, of course, Beitar Jerusalem wanted to finish his first season, but on the positive side of things the seeds had been sowed for future success.
Together with Sports Director Almog Cohen, the duo with the blessing of owner Barak Abramov made some savvy signings in the offseason to improve the play on the pitch. They weren’t additions that were going to knock anyone’s socks off, but ones that would make a real impact on the day-in and day-out game play.
Jerusalem looked to get the back line in order and build a top-tier defensive unit and it did just that by bringing in a number of players on free transfer who have fit like a glove. Israeli wingbacks Roie Elimelech and Yarden Cohen have been terrific in their first foray in the capital city. In fact, Cohen should be considered one of the top left-backs in the league right now, a position that has always been difficult to fill in competitions around the world, as he has easily been better than Senegalese import Arial Mendy, who was brought in to play the same role. Elimelch has also been favored over Grigori Morozov on many occasions as the Sabras are out-playing the foreigners quite consistently.
Add in the central defender pairing of Brayan Carabali and Luka Gadrani, with the latter arriving a couple of months into the season, and you’ve got one of the best back lines in the business. Gadrani moves with such grace and knows how to control the game and build up the attack, it’s something beautiful to watch.
In goal, Miguel Silva has been superb while second-choice ’keeper Yehonatan Ozer has filled in admirably in the pair of games that the Portuguese netminder was out with an injury. Ozer came to Beitar with a wealth of second-division experience and has been able to do what was needed of him with confidence and pride.
In the midfield and up front, Beitar has some terrific options with Dor Micha, Yarden Shua, Omer Atzily, Timoti Muzie and Adi Yona, who are arguably the best of the best in Israeli football.
With that, Cohen and Itzhaki brought on board Dor Hugi and Ziv Ben Shimol, both of who have scored some huge goals and are the reason why Beitar won a number of tight matches. That includes the 3-1 victory just this past weekend against Hapoel Petah Tikva, when Hugi scored the winner and insurance markers in second-half injury time, with Ben Shimol assisting as well.
Yarin Levy has shored up the midfield as well and with the addition of Boris Enow from the MLS, Beitar is looking very good as it enters the second half of the season.
Beitar not home free yet
All in all, Jerusalem upgraded the spots that it needed to and they is now in position to go for the gold, so to speak.
However, just because it is now in the driver’s seat by three points doesn’t mean that Beitar is home free – it is far from that. The fact that Hapoel Beersheba may have hit a bump in the road over the past few weeks and dropped some points isn’t going to ensure that Beitar will walk away with the hardware.
The Southern Reds are a solid team with an excellent coach in Ron Kozuk, who will rip apart his team in more ways than one to analyze why his club faltered as time was running out against Hapoel Tel Aviv and he will without question make the appropriate changes. There’s no way that a Kozuk-led team makes the same mistake twice.
In addition, Beersheba hosts Beitar in a few weeks at Turner Stadium and that won’t be an easy trip to make, especially since there will be no yellow-and-black fans who will be able to support their team away from home due to the punishment levied upon the club by the Israel Football Association court.
Beitar fans have been influential in their team’s success, showing up in massive numbers not just at home in Teddy Stadium but also on the road. Most recently against Kiryat Shmona at the Netanya Stadium, over 10 thousand Jerusalem faithful were in attendance.
No other team in the country has that type of travelling support and without their fans in what will be labeled as a “Match of the Season,” it will be that much harder for Beitar to get a good result.
As the regular season will come to a close in less than two months and the Championship Playoffs begin, Beitar will have to play the top teams not just once but twice, each. That means it’s two games against Maccabi Tel Aviv, two versus Maccabi Haifa, a pair against Hapoel Tel Aviv and yes two more clashes with Hapoel Beer Sheva. The first trio of those clubs will probably not be challenging for the title, although there is still plenty of time and games to go and as they say in sports, anything can happen. However, most likely those teams will be the league’s “Kingmakers”.
The championship will run through each one of those teams and points lost to them will be critical in the main scheme of things as the title race heads down to the wire in the spring.
But it’s work that was done during the past summer and additions in the transfer window that can make or break a team and it’s clear that Beitar did its homework and made the moves that it felt were crucial in order for it to be in the position it is in now. With winter signings of Boris Enow and Efmamjjasond González, Jerusalem has also solidified the midfield and striker areas that needed a bit of work.
While Beersheba hasn’t made any moves just yet, there is no question that it will. Kozuk knows full well that he needs to make some changes in order to match Jerusalem and the club no doubt will do what’s necessary. The bench boss is confident in his work and understands where his squad needs to be upgraded while his team will get to play Beitar three more times, which is plenty of real estate to make up for the points lost.
Following his side’s loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv, Kozuk was combative but also clearly focused on the goal at hand. Itzhaki is also aware that Beersheba has been in these situations for years while his side hasn’t. Beitar has the innocence of an infant and will need to learn on the fly what it is to be battling for the championship.
The season is a marathon and not a sprint, which is how Beersheba is looking at it. Perhaps the loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv may have just woken up a giant, one that may have been asleep with complacency over the past little while.
As Kozuk was finishing off his media availability following the defeat, he was asked if his team is in crisis mode. He looked out from the dais with his eyes locked and loaded and uttered just two words, “try us.”
Beitar Jerusalem plans to, as it continues on its way, down the yellow-and-black brick road of success.
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