After four seasons in the Premier League, Hapoel Petah Tikva was officially
relegated to the National League on Monday following Hapoel Beersheba’s 1-0
victory over Maccabi Petah Tikva.
However, Hapoel Petah Tikva’s season is
not yet over.
Its fate may be sealed, but rock-bottom Hapoel will still
have a big say in the identity of the two teams which will join it in the second
division next season.
There aren’t many things that can soften the pain
of relegation, but taking your much-hated rival with you is certainly one of
them.
Hapoel hosts Maccabi in the Petah Tikva derby at the Moshava
Stadium on Saturday, with the hosts knowing a win would significantly diminish
their bitter rival’s chances of another season in the top flight.
Hapoel,
which still holds the local record of winning five straight league championships
(1959- 1963), always knew that its campaign would likely end in relegation after
it began the season with a nine-point deduction as a punishment for going into
administration.
Maccabi, on the other hand, had high
expectations.
After ending the last three seasons no lower than eighth
and no higher than seventh, the club owned by the Luzon family was hoping to
push for European qualification or, at the very least, to wallow in mediocrity
for a fourth straight year.
However, Petah Tikva’s season began to
unravel in October after team president Amos Luzon sacked coach Marco Balbul
despite the side being just three points back of third place.
Balbul’s
replacement Eyal Lachman also didn’t last long and the team’s third coach of the
season, Moshe Sinai, has recorded little success since winning his first two
matches at the helm after taking charge in late January.
Since those two
victories, Maccabi has won just one of nine matches, beating Hapoel Haifa 2-1
two weeks ago before a now famous on-field brawl ensued.
Petah Tikva was
initially deducted three points by the Israel Football Association disciplinary
court after two of its employees assaulted Haifa player Ali
Khatib.
However, the IFA High Court decided earlier this week to delay
the point deduction to next season, resulting in outrage and cries to overhaul
the way the league is run, which is currently the responsibility of the IFA and
its chairman Avi Luzon, brother of Amos and the former boss of the familyowned
club.
Despite the High Court’s kind ruling, Maccabi remained the favorite
to join Hapoel Petah Tikva and Hapoel Rishon Lezion in the National League
following its 1-0 defeat to Beersheba, which gave the southerners a three-point
cushion from the relegation zone.
Maccabi has picked up just five points
from a possible 27 over its last nine matches, and with just four more games
remaining in the season, it needs to start turning matters around quickly,
preferably with Saturday’s derby.
Also Saturday, Beersheba will visit
Rishon Lezion, while Hapoel Haifa, which is two points ahead of the southerners,
travels to Hapoel Acre.
On Sunday, Betar Jerusalem goes for its seventh
straight win when it visits Hapoel Ramat Hasharon in the relegation
playoffs.
The hotly-contested battle for European qualification also
continues on Saturday, with every team from second-placed Maccabi Netanya to
Ashdod SC, five points back in eighth, still legitimately believing in their
chances of playing in the Europa League next season.
With Netanya not visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv until Monday, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, Bnei Sakhnin and Bnei Yehuda enter Saturday with a chance to move up to second.
Hapoel Tel Aviv welcomes Sakhnin and Haifa visits Bnei Yehuda, while champion Ironi Kiryat Shmona hosts Ashdod.
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