7 goals in the game, an equalizer for the Greens twice and a brutal winning goal by the bitter rival from Tel Aviv in extra time, closed an evening of football thriller, which sent the Haifa fans home heartbroken. Maccabi Haifa has a very good team this season, but there is still a lot of work to be done for the championship
Maccabi Haifa is only 6 points away from the leader Maccabi Tel Aviv, after yesterday's frustrating loss, but the weak ability in the first half, a weak defense that has already conceded three goals twice this season and one fourth on their home court, and this annoying goal yesterday, which came in extra time, are pretty clear signs that despite the overall good season and the fight at the top for the champion Maccabi Tel Aviv, the last one is the one that confidently runs for another championship title.
Even before the opening whistle it smelled bad, the Maccabi Haifa fans activated a confetti show in coordination with the club, which at first looked like a show in the major leagues of Europe, but the confetti spread along the grass and the match referee had to delay the opening whistle for fifteen minutes, until they brought blowers to disperse the confetti.
Holes in Maccabi Haifa's defense
In the game itself, Maccabi fans experienced a horror show by the defense of Maccabi Haifa with the dubious star of the Australian stopper Trent Sainsbury, when Ofri Arad and San Menachem also had difficulty standing up against the edge of the yellows from Tel Aviv, luckily it didn't end with another 2-3 goals for the visitors. The greens, no For the first time this season, they managed to come back from a two-goal deficit to 2:2, and then to 3:3, much thanks to the substitutes Wildshot and Awad, when once again Maccabi showed that at least this season, so to speak, it has character and plays until the 90th minute, but then of course it came The added time, Yonatan Cohen's brutal goal and the rest is history.
Maccabi Tel Aviv - a well-oiled machine
The league is still long and anything can happen, but beyond the loss of the greens, yesterday's game was a test of character and endurance, when the difference between the greens and the yellows this season is mental - this season's Maccabi Tel Aviv is a well-oiled machine, even if it doesn't show captivating football, from the young and talented goalkeeper between The beams, who was not supposed to be the first goalkeeper at all, an iron defense that, despite the trio it suffered yesterday, continues to be stable and technical behind and in front, a technical and talented link and a wide squad, with which, it turns out, coach Vladimir Ivić can have fun when he leaves players like Dor Micha and Chico Ofwado is on the bench and can still be pleased with the 11 he has on the pitch.
Maccabi Haifa excels on the edge and falters in defense
Maccabi Haifa also has a large squad, but Marko is probably confused, he has not yet found the necessary combination to bring the team together, with the Achilles' heel lying in an unstable defense. The team's edge in attack is diverse and this will be evidenced by the number of goals scored by the team this season, but with the abundance of players in this position, the disciplinary problems and injuries, it is doubtful if it will continue like this for a long time.
Stress and thoughts about the future
There is no doubt that yesterday's loss was one of the stingers the team has ever had, if not the biggest, but in the end, it was an unexpected game of the season, full of tension and thoughts about the future. On Saturday, Maccabi has an away game against Maccabi Netanya and will want to quickly forget about the loss, which could cost them an entire season.
