Hap Haifa needs extra time to capture Toto Cup over BS

Hapoel Haifa claimed its first title in 12 years on Wednesday, beating Hapoel Beersheba 1-0 after extra-time in the Toto Cup final in Petah Tikva.

Touvarno Pinas scored the only goal of the match in the third minute of extra-time, with his shot from 20 meters out taking a wicked deflection off Beersheba defender Ben Vahaba and flying into the back of the net passed goalkeeper Galil Ben-Sha’anan.

After a dreary first half, Vladimir Gluscevic came centimeters away from giving Haifa the lead in the 85th minute when his header came off the crossbar. But Nir Klinger’s team was more than happy to reach extra-time after goalkeeper Tvrtko Kale saved Ido Eksbard’s penalty in the 87th minute.

“I’ve won a lot of titles in my life, but this is one of the sweeter ones,” Klinger said.

“This team suffered for many months and I think that this might be the start of something new.”

Haifa also visits Beersheba in Premier League action on Sunday after climbing off the bottom of the standings last week.

Meanwhile, defender Ignacio Fideleff is set to become Maccabi Tel Aviv’s fourth addition of the January transfer window on Thursday.

The Argentinian Jew joined Napoli of Italy’s Serie A from Newell’s Old Boys for a transfer fee estimated at 3 million euro at the start of 2011/12, but was loaned out to Parma this season.

The 23-year-old also received very few chances at Parma and joins Maccabi on a loan deal until the end of the 2013/14 campaign, with the yellowand- blue having an option to make the move permanent at the end of next season.

Fideleff will be Maccabi’s fourth signing in recent weeks, replacing Steve Gohouri, who was unhappy with the credit he was given by coach Oscar Garcia.

Fideleff joins Israeli-born Canadian goalkeeper Tomer Chencinski, striker Rade Prica, who replaced Robert Earnshaw, and Israel international Eran Zahavi, who arrived from Italy’s Palermo.