Local Soccer: Nimni debuts for Mac TA in Petah Tikva

Betar looks to get back on track at Bnei Yehuda; Hapoel Tel Aviv plays Maccabi PT.

By ALLON SINAI
Avi Nimni 224.88 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Avi Nimni 224.88
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Avi Nimni takes Maccabi Tel Aviv to Hapoel Petah Tikva in his first match as coach on Saturday, knowing only a victory will pacify the team's disgruntled fans. Ran Ben-Shimon was sacked as coach last Sunday after guiding the side to just two victories in eight matches and Nimni has plenty of work to do with the dysfunctional team he has inherited. His main priority on Saturday, however, will be to claim a win by even the smallest of margins. "Whatever happened is history now and we're embarking on a new road," Maccabi midfielder Maor Buzaglo said on Thursday. "There are big expectations from the team and we must improve starting Saturday," Nimni's assistant Marco Balbul said. "The season is only eight matches old and the most important thing is that we start registering victories." Newly promoted Petah Tikva, which is a surprise fifth in the standings following last week's 3-0 victory at Bnei Sakhnin, will be without its prolific striker Shimon Abuhatzira on Saturday. Abuhatzira, who leads the Premier League with eight goals, was sent off last week and will be sorely missed by his team, which without him has only three goals this season. Betar Jerusalem will look to recover from last week's heartbreaking 2-0 defeat to Hapoel Tel Aviv when it visits Bnei Yehuda on Saturday. The two-time defending champion has won just once in its last five league matches and already trails Maccabi Haifa by a massive 12 points. "At this moment there's no point talking about winning the league," Betar defender Arik Benado said on Thursday. "We haven't given up, but in our current state it's simply not realistic to be speaking about finishing in first place. "We went through a couple of tough days after losing to Hapoel, but the only thing on our mind now is Saturday's match at Bloomfield. It's true that we're experiencing a stressful period, but we believe in ourselves and I think we will defeat Bnei Yehuda." Despite its early season struggles, Hapoel Tel Aviv can climb to third in the standings with a victory against Maccabi Petah Tikva at Bloomfield on Saturday. Hapoel is in a confident mood after its victory at Teddy on Monday and a third straight win on Saturday will see it leapfrog above Petah Tikva and move within touching distance of the top two. Also Saturday, Ashdod SC hosts Bnei Sakhnin and Hakoach Amidar Ramat Gan goes up north to play Ironi Kiryat Shmona. On Monday, Maccabi Haifa hosts Maccabi Netanya at Kiryat Eliezer Stadium in a showdown between the league's only remaining unbeaten sides.