The story gets complicated. For weeks, Maccabi Haifa looked on its safe path to its first championship after a decade, but now – with the end of the 19th round of the Premier League – its gap at the top is suddenly only two points. The Greens lost tonight (Saturday) 1: 0 to MS. Ashdod in the 11th stadium, and they will have to deal with a lot of pressure in the upcoming games.
Meanwhile, in addition to the pressure that will of course increase now, the degree of difficulty at the professional level is also expected to increase in the near future. Maccabi Haifa will meet its city rival on Wednesday, which defeated it 1: 2 in the first round; Five days later, she will arrive at Teddy Stadium to meet Betar Jerusalem. Well, the task of Barak Bachar and his players becomes difficult and complicated.
“It was one of our less good games this season,” he admitted Barak Bachar Disappointed at the end. “A lot of things did not work. Ashdod controlled the field and we did not find solutions, we did not know what to do with the ball when we already got it. Unfortunately, we did not know how to win even in our less good game. We did not get points here, that’s the truth.”
If the loss is not enough, it is possible that Haifa also lost its top scorer in the near future, Nikita Rokavica, Who was injured during the first half and was substituted. Bachar was asked if he now plans to add another striker to the squad and said: “We are a moment after the game … hope it is not something serious. I do not think our problem in Ashdod was the lack of a striker. The whole team was not good enough. We have Goodsway Donio and Autumn “Young Nachmani. This staff is good enough for the championship anyway.”
As mentioned, the gap of the Greens at the top of the table narrowed to only two points, after Maccabi Tel Aviv achieved a dramatic 0: 1 over Bnei Sakhnin. Maccabi Haifa will have to deal with this pressure, and Barak Bachar sounds ready for the challenge: “This pressure is constantly mentioned … it’s part of the matter. We are in a club with high ambitions and the goal is known to everyone. I felt it even when there was a big gap. “I like this pressure.”
On the other hand, M.S. Ashdod recovered from the 3-0 defeat to Maccabi Netanya, and marked “V” on each of the big teams in Israel – after beating Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Beer Sheva and Betar Jerusalem earlier this season. Sometimes, Ashdod seems to be able to even challenge Championship title, but instability hurts her in the long run.
Ran Ben Shimon Addressed this at the end: “We have falls sometimes because there are games where other things have to be done, not just beautiful football wins. We go through a process, from a team that is controlled to one that moves and controls a ball, and along the way sometimes there are punctures. I have fun with these players during the week, “I am proud of them. We see their learning process.”
Ben Shimon’s name was recently linked as a candidate for Hapoel Beer Sheva following the resignation of Yossi Aboksis. Naturally, the Ashdod coach was asked about this after the victory over the leader, and said: “How can I talk now about the end of the season? I am only committed to Ashdod, I am signed here for another year. I did not talk about anything with Jackie Ben Zaken.”
