Local Soccer: Betar and Maccabi play to 0-0 deadlock

J'lem misses a late penalty, still without a goal despite dominating play at Teddy.

By ALLON SINAI
toto tamuz 298.88 (photo credit: AP)
toto tamuz 298.88
(photo credit: AP)
Betar Jerusalem is still searching for its first goal of the 2008/09 season after Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric saved Shimon Gershon's 90th-minute penalty on Sunday night at Teddy Stadium. The goalless deadlock was Betar's second straight and leaves the two-time defending champion still bottom of the Premier League standings. "Betar played well. We may have missed a lot, but we played well and the goals will come," new Betar coach Reuven Atar said after his debut on the sidelines. After a tight first half, Betar seized control of the encounter in the final half-hour of the match and should have really taken all three points after referee Asaf Keinan pointed to the penalty spot following Ori Shitrit's hand ball. Gershon's shot was not accurate enough, however, and Jevric had no trouble saving the penalty to give his team one point from its visit to Teddy. Betar looked to dominate from the start of the match and within the first minute Dario Fernandez could have given the hosts the lead, but he shot high. Tel Aviv, however, had no intention of letting Jerusalem have its own way and the possession time quickly evened out. In the sixth minute, the visitors almost stunned the Teddy crowd when Dulee Johnson cut the Betar defense to ribbons, but failed to pick out a teammate with his pass from the byline. Twenty minutes later, Maccabi put the ball in the back of the net, but Guillermo Israilevich's beautiful lob was wrongly disallowed for being offside. A lack of cutting edge from both teams meant scoring opportunities were at a premium in the first half, with most of the match taking place in the center of the field. Nevertheless, the hosts should have gone into the break in the lead, but five minutes before the interval Toto Tamuz wasted a superb opportunity, shooting poorly wide of the goal after a nice Betar play. Maccabi coach Ran Ben-Shimon was clearly content with a draw as his team did little attacking in the second half and concentrated on keeping a clean sheet. It took the hosts more than 20 second-half minutes to register their first serious shot on goal, with Aviram Bruchian's bullet from five meters out cleared by Jevric. Less than a minute later Derek Boateng should have given his side the lead, but his header from Bruchian's cross sailed harmlessly wide instead of hitting the back of the net. Bruchian was by far Betar's most dangerous player and, in the 81st minute, his cross got the better of the Maccabi defense, but no Jerusalem player was on hand to turn the ball in. Three minutes later, the talented midfielder released a superb volley from a tight angle and despite getting the better of Jevric was denied a goal by the upright. Betar continued to push forward in search of the winner and in the 90th minute got an ideal opportunity to take all three points. Shitrit handled the ball in the area, but Gershon's penalty wasn't good enough and Jevric ensured Maccabi returned to Tel Aviv with a point.