In some of its games in Europe, and also in the only league game it had so far, Jarko Laztic’s Maccabi Tel Aviv looked at times like a well-oiled machine. Tonight (Saturday) squeaks in the machine were discovered for the first time, but in the bottom line the goal was achieved – 6 out of 6 in the league after 0:1 against Hapoel Beer Sheva.
Ran Kozhoch’s team mostly squeaked from the beginning of the season, but maybe the role of the underdog did them good. The reds pressed high on the yellow defense from the first minutes and already in the sixth minute they found the net after a great kick from Kings Kangwa from a distance. The pressure was also over-aggressive at times, as it was in this case, as Kangwa’s goal was disallowed for a foul on the move.
The red pressure continued, but the one who managed to free himself from it was Dor Turgeman. The striker, who is preferred over Eran Zahavi as far as Laztic is concerned, showed why he deserves credit. Turgeman took great control of the ball, turned and cut between the defenders. He completed the impressive personal performance with a ball into the net of Niv Eliasi in the 44th minute in what turned out to be the winning goal.
The rest of the game did not brighten things up for Laztic, even in the injured section. Gabi Kanikovski was replaced at halftime and also Shagib Yehezkel who was injured in the head made way for the debut of Nemania Stoic. Not an ideal situation in light of the load that awaits the team in the near future.
In such a volatile game, the most unexpected moment came in the 64th minute. Matan Balatxa, who only a few days before the meeting moved from Tel Aviv to Be’er Sheva, struck in against the former in the first game in the new team. This goal was also disallowed, this time because of Zahi Ahmed’s differentiator who cooked him a shot.
Niv Eliasi still managed to record a huge save, but Beer Sheva returned from Bloomfield with a feeling of being missed. This is her fifth consecutive away loss against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but this time she was closer than ever to ending the streak. In the meantime, Laztic has a short time to make changes to the machine, as Hapoel Jerusalem will be waiting for him on Wednesday in a completion game from the opening round.
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