Maccabi Haifa recovered tonight (Sunday) from the loss to Maccabi Petah Tikva with a 0: 2 victory at Bloomfield Stadium over Bnei Yehuda in front of 1,350 spectators and narrowed the gap from the leader Maccabi Tel Aviv to one point, one round before the end of the regular season and the transition to the top playoffs.
It was not easy and Barak Bachar’s team had a hard time for half and a bit, but in the 53rd minute Neta Lavie broke the ice with an advantage goal from a great cooking by Noble Omar and nine minutes later San Menachem set the result of the game.
Maccabi Haifa coach Barak Bachar He said at the end about the rehearsal of the audience: “It was exciting, there were 1,500 here and it sounds like 30,000, after you are used to silence and silence such an atmosphere is great fun, hope it grows”.
Is it less stressful to come from second place ?: “It does not release, there is always pressure, I always wish to be under the pressure of Sunday-Monday, hope we return to being in first place.”
On Noble: “We have seen in recent games that he is more relaxed, does simpler actions, when necessary takes risks, understands the team better and connects more, it is a pity he did not give a goal today but I am glad he contributed, cooked and was excellent.”
On the difference between the halves: “When you come up against a team that is fighting for its life and knows how to shut itself down, it was not easy and we still reached 3-2 good situations. We controlled, the pace was less good, the emphasis in the half was with the entry of Yuval Ashkenazi, more joining the field, happy that we were able to improve it and play much better, this is our team. “
On Rokavica and Rodriguez: “Rokavica was not supposed to open but at the last minute Goodsway did not feel 100% so we had to split the minutes. He was also injured before, so for a long time he was not in action, little by little he comes back, we trust him because he is a professional and we will make the decisions together with him and get him back in shape. Rodriguez was hit in the ankle and hopes he will be fine by Wednesday. “
On the players’ return to fitness: “It is impossible in any game to lose points, there is interest, tension, everything is close, every action on the field is important. It was important to come and win, to win in football. Beyond the fact that every game is important, it is important to be the dynamic, energetic Maccabi Haifa. When you have a full squad and such exchanges and also 8 days of rest it is good, and we will have to learn to divide the minutes on Wednesday and for the next game, we will have to win them all because we have proven that there is a good and big squad.
On the difference between the two rounds in the league: “We conduct the same thing, go up to every game to play our football, make good results, in good percentages, and the goal is to improve them. We know that everything is close and every game is important and we must continue to win. “
Conqueror of the first gate Neta Lavie He also referred to the return of the crowd: “It’s an amazing feeling, we heard in the voice of our fans how much they missed us and we missed them, glad they came back and that we will continue to make them happy.”
On the fact that Maccabi Tel Aviv opened a gap of 4 points before the game: “We did not think about it too much, we knew we had to go back and win, glad we did it, three more days there is another game.”
On the fact that he finally scored: “Glad I helped the team win, the friends arranged situations for me in the first half as well, glad I was able to help.”
On the sequel: “You have to look at each game in a different section from the next game, concentrate and get ready for each game, do ours and move on. Can promise that we will do everything to pass Maccabi Tel Aviv, we must beat them and we will do everything to make it happen. “
On the other hand, the Bnei Yehuda coach Yossi Aboksis He said: “It does not look good, certainly in the level differences from Maccabi Haifa. In the first half we managed to close them well, against Maccabi Haifa, such a quality team, when you get to a situation like that of Bechirai in the first half you have to score, because then you get energy and air, we might get some strength. We opened the second half worse, they came fresh, we were tired from Thursday “.
“I’m not sorry I came to Bnei Yehuda. With all the situation, I am in a place I love, it is true that the situation is not good, the situation is very difficult, but when you come to work for fun despite this difficult period, when you get to a place that appreciates you it is different no matter where I was and what I left. This is a place I love despite the situation and I’m really not sorry. ”
On the misses: “The last move would not have brought us points but we lack confidence, a goal of even 2: 1 would have mattered. Also in the first half the situation of Bechirai was an exceptional move and we also had to score. Against Maccabi Haifa, you have to win in situations that come your way. It is true that we do not win, I say this every game, we do not produce too many situations, certainly in a game like this against Maccabi Haifa. We have at least 4 points to close, we have a regular season end game and then 7 lower playoff games that each become a game-by-game game. You can not say that the players do not want, in the first half they fought and gave everything and when we absorbed the goal it took all the air out of us, because we played a tough game on Thursday with Teddy and they came fresh. But that’s not the reason, Haifa is a better team than us, trying to get their heads in the playoffs and get better and with confidence. I will tell you that it is 4 points, it is not much but it is also quite a bit, we should be at our best “.
In conclusion he said: “It is a difficult challenge when you come to the team in the middle of the season it is a difficult thing, you come on the move, study the players, the staff, we also had a lot of bad luck, we got the Corona during this period, we did not play with one team as we wanted, And in the playoffs when we play with the team I want you will see that we play better. Believes we will stay in the league. I know it will be very difficult but I believe. It looks better because we are starting to stabilize the lineup, we have not been able to produce one lineup as we wanted, it is true that it is excuses, but in such staffs that are not deep, every player becomes significant. I believe we will stay, Bnei Yehuda will do everything to stay and I believe that is what will happen. “