Hapoel Tel Aviv got by Hapoel Beersheba 2-1 in Israel Premier League action as Amit Lemkin scored deep into second-half injury time to snatch the win and the three points at Bloomfield Stadium.
With the defeat, the Southern Reds dropped into second place in the standings, three points behind Beitar Jerusalem, which jumped into the top spot with a 3-1 victory over Hapoel Petah Tikva over the weekend.
Hapoel Tel Aviv got on the board very quickly as Beersheba 'keeper Niv Eliasi coughed up the ball to an oncoming Loizos Loizou, who slotted it into the goal for a quick 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.
Both sides needed to make injury substitutions in the first half as Beersheba’s acting captain Helder Lopes came off for Ofir Davidzada, while Stav Turiel, who had extended his contract through the 2028/29 season, also had to come off in favor of Roie Alkukin as the half came to an end with Tel Aviv holding onto the one-goal lead.
Beersheba came out of the break looking for the equalizer as Kings Kangwa hit the left post from 22 meters out. His next chance went into the goal as Eliel Peretz set up the Zambian midfielder in the box, as he laced home a terrific goal to knot the game up at 1-1 in the 55th minute.
Amir Ganach almost gave the visitors the lead, but his smart shot hit the bar as Kangwa’s chance late in the game missed the target.
However, as time wound down, Hapoel Tel Aviv broke downfield as Liran Rotman sent the ball to an oncoming Lemkin, who placed it right between a diving Eliasi and the right post to score the winner as time wound down and steal the points from Beersheba.
Tel Aviv coach Elyaniv Barda spoke about taking the late win.
“This is the life of the game of football, there are great high points and low points that are heartbreaking. This was very important for me to lift the players up and encourage them as Hapoel Tel Aviv is a huge club and we had a tough second half, but we had the ability to do what we needed to. I want to take this club back to its glory days and it really doesn’t matter who we defeat. We had a really rough week after the cruel loss in the derby and we had to all come together and bring back the energy that we needed in order to have these types of great moments.”
“There is a lot here about character and we can change that,” Beersheba coach Ran Kozuk began. “The first half was one of our weakest this season. I know what needs to be done and the players know what I think about that, what was said at halftime will remain with me. We are always looking at how we can improve and there were a lot of good things that we did in the second half as we scored fairly quickly. We needed to continue to push and press for another one. I’m going to concern myself with Beersheba and not Beitar Jerusalem.”
'We came in to win every game and we did just that'
Lemkin talked about his winning goal and the victory.
“We are Hapoel Tel Aviv and we come in to win every game and we did just that. We had a tough week after the Cup match but that’s football, we knew we had a big game against Hapoel Beersheba at home and we wanted to make sure we did everything in our power to take the three points.
Beitar Jerusalem, meanwhile, handily got past Hapoel Petah Tikva as Dor Hugi scored a pair of late goals to seal the victory and give the yellow-and-black the points at the Moshava Stadium.
Following a goalless first half, Yarden Shua slotted home an Omer Atzili pass for a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute, but Boni Amian drew the hosts even at 1-1 a quarter-hour later.
However, as the match headed into second-half injury time, Hugi scored off a beautiful Ziv Ben Shimol pass into the box in the 93rd minute and added an insurance marker four minutes later via a header off a Dor Micha ball to wrap up the win.
Jerusalem coach Barak Itzhaki talked about the victory.
“This was a very important but also very difficult win. We feel very good and it’s clear the guys in the dressing room are very happy. This was a very significant win for us. There was some squad management here and that is part of the job. The players know I’m very honest and go with what I believe in. Dor Hugi doesn’t play much and Ziv Ben Shimol came on in the 88th minute and gets an assist while Dor Micha also came in as a substitute and played excellent football.”
Elsewhere, Maccabi Haifa dismantled Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-1 as the Greens scored three late goals to take the victory.
After a number of injuries littered the first half of play, with no less than three players having to be substituted off, Michael Ohana scored off a Navot Ratner ball just ahead of the break to give Haifa a 1-0 lead. However, with the yellow-and-blue pressing, Sagiv Yehezkel evened the match up at 1-1 from inside the box in the 52nd minute.
Both squads made wholesale changes as the second half wore on, with the two head coaches trying to find the winning formula. That side would eventually be Haifa as Pierre Cornud sent a cross into the box and right to an oncoming Guy Melamed, who stabbed the ball into Ofek Melika’s goal to give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the 79th minute.
Less than two minutes later, Kenji Gorre came in on the left flank and sent a scorcher into the corner of the goal to add an insurance marker, while Niv Gabbai polished off the victory with his first strike in the 88th minute to wrap up the game.
Haifa coach Barak Bachar said after the match: “It’s a happy day for the fans who have suffered a lot over the past two years. I know how important this game was for them. I told the players that the crowd wants consistency and extra effort. I’m glad we delivered that in a big way, in fact, we should have been leading 4–0 by halftime.”
Maccabi bench boss Zarko Lazetic shared his thoughts.
“We felt that we weren’t there in the first half, that we were soft. We lacked intensity and that was the problem. In the second half we improved, controlled the game, created chances and felt we had momentum, but then we lost. When you start the game without energy and look like that, football punishes you.”
Also, Bnei Sakhnin slipped by Maccabi Netanya 2-1 as the hosts scored a pair of goals in the second half to come back and take the win.
The first half didn’t provide many chances, but Netanya, under brand new head coach Roni Levy, found the back of the goal deep into first-half injury time to take a 1-0 lead at the break. However, Alon Auzgi knotted the game up early in the second half with a brilliant header past diamond city side ’keeper Omer Niron while Yusef Mustafa Sheh completed the comeback with a terrific free kick that sent the ball into the top left of the goal as time wound down to hand the hosts the win.
Sakhnin coach Sharon Mimer shared his thoughts.
“My players deserve a lot of credit, we’re really getting the maximum out of every game. We looked solid and we did some nice things during the match while keeping our focus forward. My job is to see when things are stuck or not working and then to change it up.”
Hapoel Jerusalem blanked Ironi Tiberias 2-0 as both goals were scored in the first half to give the capital city Reds the win.
Ilay Madmon scored an early penalty after a handball in the box to give the hosts a 1-0 lead, while Madmon’s corner kick found Awaka Ashta, who headed the ball into the goal to add an insurance marker as Jerusalem wrapped up the win by the break.
Jerusalem coach Ziv Arie spoke about the win.
“It wasn’t a game of great football. It started with an early penalty and another goal from a corner. We’ve lost games like this in the past, so right now we’re satisfied with the win.”
Maccabi Bnei Reineh and Ashdod played to a goalless draw as the two sides split the points.
Finally, Kiryat Shmona downed Hapoel Haifa 3-1 as the Northerners scored a trio of unanswered goals to snatch the three points in the comeback win.
Rotem Hatuel gave the Carmel Reds a 1-0 lead, but Yair Mordechai knotted the game up at 1-1 by the break. From there, Cristian Martinez found the back of the goal in the 76th minute while Mor Simantov added an injury-time insurance marker to wrap up the win.
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