Tie leaves Reds two points behind league-leader Maccabi Haifa.
By ALLON SINAIKiryat Shmona Hap TA 311(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Premier League winning streak was snapped at six matches on Monday, with the reigning champion being held to a 1-1 draw at Ironi Kiryat Shmona.Hapoel took the lead in the 37th minute through Ben Sahar, but was no where near its best on Monday and deserved no more than the one point it went home with after William Njovu equalized in the 69th minute.The draw takes Hapoel to 42 points, two behind league-leader Maccabi Haifa, with Kiryat Shmona remaining in fourth position with 33 points.“We didn’t move the ball well and we created almost nothing,” Hapoel coach Eli Gutman said.The hosts were more determined at the start, with new signing Shimon Abu Hazeira especially desperate to make a good impression on his debut.Abu Hazeira, who joined on loan from Greek club Larissa, registered the first chance of the night with a shot from the edge of the area in the 19th minute, but Hapoel was gifted the opener in the 37th minute.Salah Hasarma allowed Eran Zahavi’s through ball to roll under his foot and Sahar capitalized on the mistake, slotting in his sixth goal in the last five matches after scoring just once in his team’s first 14 league matches.Kiryat Shmona finally got its reward for its dominance in the 69th minute.Abu Hazeira fluffed his shot, but fortunately for the hosts, the ball fell to Njovu and the Zambian tucked in the equalizer.
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