Maccabi Tel Aviv were overjoyed last night (Wednesday) after the dramatic and especially sweet victory in the final minutes of the season, against Maccabi Haifa in Bloomfield. Patrick Van Leven’s team did not boast of its best game this season, but made it difficult for the Greens to reach the goal and came out on top and with one clear statement – the championship fight is still alive.
The team players celebrated the sweet victory in the locker room, which brought with it a lot of confidence and a sense of euphoria, claiming: “Maccabi Haifa can not beat us. Despite all the shortcomings and injuries, we came favorites to the game. They have a psychological barrier against us.” And the players are not entirely wrong, when the statistics show that for 15 consecutive games, Maccabi Haifa did not manage to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, Van Leven, who has not lost yet, recorded a fifth victory for the balance out of six games and strengthened his position, while his trainees narrowed the gap from Maccabi Haifa from 8 points to 5. “We have silenced everyone who eulogized the championship fight for us. We have a strong squad and we are not dependent on any player to be absent. We will continue to fight until the last minute,” they said in the locker room.
Meanwhile, the club wanted to compliment Matan Hozaz, who became the star of the evening after cooking for Tal Ben Haim the equalizer (scored for the first time in the last three years and brought the team back into the game), and also squeezed in the final minutes the penalty that led to the upheaval. “Matan is a winner,” the club said of him. “He got a chance and took it with both feet. He’s the hero of the game.”
Also, the club were pleased with the defense squad’s stance on the stability shown by Luis Hernandez and Sharan Yeni, who gave a lot of quiet To Van Leven In the center of defense. Dan Glazer, who came in as a substitute, also proved how important the game was and won compliments. “I think the replacement in which Glazer came in helped a lot for the team,” said the Dutch coach. “He tried to organize the center of the field, he tried to put his character into the game and it helped other players open up, flourish and show more of their qualities.”
“The character won. We started the game not well and the character brought us back and at certain moments we showed good football in the second half,” the coach analyzed. “I think some of the substitutions changed the mood of some of the players on the team, who started to believe that something bigger could be done than what happened in the first half. It was an emotional game on both sides.”
also Alexander Peshich, Who came on as a substitute and scored the dramatic winning goal from the penalty spot, shared feelings: “I started the game on the bench because I did not train for many days due to injury. This morning I also felt a bit of pain,” “In the last two games he played amazing. I will wait for my chance from the bench.”
“I respect Maccabi Haifa, it is a good club with a lot of good players, but I believe in my teammates and my club and if we continue like this I think we have a good chance of winning the championship,” the striker continued. “My team trains very hard and the character we showed was amazing. From the first moment to the last my team wanted to win, during the game I saw in the face of many players that they want to win the game, change it and get closer to Maccabi Haifa. We reduced the gap to five points and we have more time. “.
Meanwhile the club are troubled by the injury of Eden Kartzev, who was substituted during the game after injuring his knee. The medical staff hopes that this is not a serious injury and he will be examined during the day. Until then, Van Leven is optimistic about the fitness of all his players ahead of the meeting with Hapoel B’Shlosha this coming Monday: “I am happy that we are once again getting a full squad with the guys returning from injuries. Hapoel Beer Sheva is a club that shows its qualities in games and we will prepare ourselves for that. “
