Beersheba goes top after steamrolling Sakhnin

Southerners record 4-0 win up north, Hapoel TA held to 2-2 draw by Bnei Yehuda.

By ALLON SINAI
soccer BS 370 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
soccer BS 370
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Hapoel Beersheba climbed to the summit of the Premier League standings in emphatic fashion on Saturday night, thrashing Bnei Sakhnin 4-0 at Doha Stadium.
Five days after handing defending champion Maccabi Tel Aviv its first defeat of the season, winning 3-2 at Vasermil Stadium, Beersheba completely outplayed Sakhnin on the road to move one point ahead of the yellowand- blue, which will only host Maccabi Petah Tikva on Monday night.
After conceding the first goal in its previous three matches, Beersheba finally got a game off on the right foot on Saturday, with Elyaniv Barda scoring the opener after nine minutes thanks to some excellent build up play by Dovev Gabai.
The goal of the night arrived seven minutes before the break, with Maor Buzaglo’s stunning strike from 20 meters out flying into the top right corner.
Barda netted his second goal of the match in the 66th minute and Tomer Swisa put the icing on the cake in the sixth minute of stoppage time after the match was briefly suspended due to floodlight failure.
“We showed a lot of character with this win,” said Barda, who has scored four goals in Beersheba’s past three matches.
“There is often a drop in form after a big win, but we managed to build on the victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv. There’s no need to get carried away and start talking about winning the championship. Our goal at the moment is to cement our place among the league’s top teams.”
Hapoel Tel Aviv dropped two more precious points on Saturday, drawing 2- 2 against Bnei Yehuda at Bloomfield Stadium.
Hapoel was hoping to record three consecutive wins in league action for the first time this season, but it couldn’t overcome Bnei Yehuda, which had picked up just a single point from its previous seven matches.
Nevertheless, Bnei Yehuda was far from happy at the final whistle after taking a 2-1 lead with Hapoel down to 10 men in the 63rd minute.
Following a dreary first half, Omer Damari scored the opener for Hapoel four minutes after the break, but Bnei Yehuda would turn the match on its head within 10 minutes.
Oz Raly equalized in the 54th minute after a solo slalom and Liroy Zhairi gave the hosts the lead nine minutes later, scoring from the rebound of Raly’s missed penalty, with Hapoel’s Jurgen Colin being sent off for the foul.
However, even with 10 men, Tel Aviv tied the score just five minutes later, with Damari netting from the penalty spot after a Ben Vahaba handball.
After three straight wins, Hapoel Haifa was brought back down to earth on Saturday, losing 1-0 at Ashdod SC. Timor Avitan scored the winner in the 77th minute.
Hapoel Ramat Hasharon drew 1-1 with Hapoel Acre on Saturday. Emir Hadzic (10) gave the hosts the lead, with Elior Syder equalizing (81) after Ramat Hasharon’s Ben Reichert was sent off (49).
Also Saturday, Ironi Kiryat Shmona drew 0-0 with Hapoel Ra’anana.
On Monday, Maccabi Tel Aviv can return to first place when it hosts Maccabi Petah Tikva, while Beitar Jerusalem visits the struggling Maccabi Haifa.