Maccabi Haifa hosted Maccabi Netanya on Wednesday (January 14.1.2025, XNUMX) in the round of XNUMX of the State Cup, a game in which history leans in favor of the Yellows, who have already eliminated the Greens from the cup twice in a row.
Most of the first half was under the control of Maccabi Netanya, who tried to take advantage of quite a few mistakes by the Greens, but despite the many opportunities, the lack of accuracy of the Netanya players kept Haifa in the picture.
In the 5th minute, Haifa had its first chance from a free kick, but the ball went over the frame.
In the 6th minute, Netanya already celebrated a goal after lifting the ball from a set piece into the box and shooting it in, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside claim. The game heated up even more in the 27th minute, when Netanya coach Yossi Abouxis was sent off with a red card after an exchange of words with the referee.
Winning substitution
In the second half, the Greens finally woke up, especially after Lior Refaalov entered the game in place of Sabrina, a substitution that seemed to change the momentum in favor of the host.
In the 52nd minute, Gadi Kinda snatched a ball in the middle of the field and went on a rampage, but his shot from outside the box missed the target. In the 56th minute, another dangerous attack by Haifa ended with an easy ball into the hands of the Netanya goalkeeper.
On the other hand, in the 58th minute, a huge free kick by Netanya in front of the goal was aimed for a goal, but a heroic save by Sherif Kiyof prevented the Yellows from taking the lead.
Winning goal
The moment every Green fan was waiting for arrived in the 68th minute: Eitan Azoulay kicked a flat, powerful ball from outside the box that found the net of his former team – 1-0 to Maccabi Haifa!
In the last quarter of an hour of the game, Netanya repeatedly tried to equalize, with dangerous opportunities in the 75th, 77th, and 91st minutes, but once again the green goalkeeper showed everyone that he was here to stay.
In the end, Maccabi Haifa managed to advance to the quarterfinals and although Maccabi Haifa fans are not satisfied with the performance, the result keeps the cup fight alive and breathing and sometimes, only sometimes, that's what matters.