Luis Hernandez’s 96th-minute goal gave the yellow-and-blue its 24th State Cup as outgoing President Reuven Rivlin gave his final trophy to captain Sheran Yeini, who hoisted it into the air to the delight of the Maccabi supporters.
The Reds grabbed a first-half lead thanks to Omri Altman, but Maccabi substitute Yonatan Cohen headed home the equalizer in the second half as the game went into the extra session.
Hernandez gave the yellow-and-blue a 2-1 advantage, but Shai Eisen appeared to draw Hapoel even, before the goal was disallowed due to an earlier foul. The called-off tally led to coach Nir Klinger’s ejection as Patrick van Leeuwen’s squad wrapped up its first Cup triumph since 2015.
“I’m smiling now that the final whistle has been blown,” Van Leeuwen said. “It’s exciting. It’s been a long time since the club won the Cup. This is an important title and it’s good to end the season this way. We’ve done a good job throughout the season.”
Yeini expressed gratitude for his coach.
“We knew that we could win the game and that’s what we told each other at halftime,” noted Yeini. “Patrick knows how to handle the team and he always had confidence in us.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv faced one another in a State Cup final derby for the first time since 1994, when the yellow-and-blue held the upper hand with a 2-0 win over its city rivals. Interestingly, current Hapoel coach Klinger scored one of the goals in that contest.
In league play this season, Maccabi finished in second place and Hapoel in 11th as van Leeuwen’s team won the first meeting between the teams and drew the second match.
To reach Wednesday’s final, Maccabi defeated Hapoel Beersheba, Hapoel Haifa, Ashdod SC and Maccabi Haifa, while Hapoel got by Hapoel Ashkelon, Maccabi Netanya, Hapoel Kfar Shelem and Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam.
With President Rivlin in attendance and over 30,000 fans split evenly throughout the stadium, Maccabi had the game’s first chance as Enric Saborit’s smart shot was smothered by Reds’ ’keeper Ernestas Setkus in the 14th minute.
The yellow-and-blue continued to control the pace of play, with quality chances at a premium, but Klinger’s side made the most of its first opportunity.
Shlomi Azulay headed the ball down to the ground in the box and former Maccabi attacker Altman cleanly put it behind a helpless Daniel Tenenbaum for a 1-0 Hapoel lead in the 31st minute.
Van Leeuwen’s squad almost immediately responded at the other end, but Itay Shechter’s scorcher went off the woodwork while Matan Baltaxa’s ball went out.
As play began to heat up, Azulay almost doubled the Reds’ advantage, but Tenenbaum cut off the angle.
At the other end, Dor Peretz’s header off a Tal Ben Chaim free kick went out as the half ended with Hapoel holding a 1-0 lead.
Maccabi made a substitute at the break as Matan Hozez came on to replace Ben Chaim and tried his luck just after entering the fray, but his ball was off the mark while Saborit’s chance went way wide and Baltaxa cleared the bar.
Hozez went in off the right wing, but his shot was saved by Setkus as van Leeuwen brought on Cohen and Dan Bitton in place of Shechter and Yeini to freshen up the offense.
Klinger made his first move of the game as well, introducing Emmanuel Boateng for Azulay in order to bunker up and hold onto the lead.
However, Maccabi had other plans as Dan Glazer, who had been quiet all game, lofted a brilliant ball into the box that Cohen headed behind Setkus with his back to the goal to draw the yellow-and-blue even at 1-1 in the 73rd minute.
Hapoel brought on Raz Stain for Osher Davida following the strike while Cohen’s header off a Bitton throw-in was caught by an alert Setkus as time wound down.
Just before extra time, Hapoel made another substitute as Eisen entered the game for Shai Elias.
Maccabi went right for the goal as the extra period began and it found it quickly when Bitton’s free kick was headed by Baltaxa to a wide-open Hernandez in the box as the central defender powered the ball home for a 2-1 lead.
The Reds looked to find the tying goal as Altman’s long-distance opportunity was saved by Tenenbaum, and Hernandez stopped Boateng as he sprinted towards the goal. Boateng again sent a smart shot towards Tenenbaum, but the shot-stopper pawed away the ball at the last moment as Hapoel continued to threaten the Maccabi goal.
To the delight of the Reds faithful, Eisen looked to have found the equalizer as he pounded the ball into the goal, but the marker was waved off as the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) ruled that a foul had been committed on Peretz earlier in the play. Klinger went wild as he entered the field of play and was shown a red card as Maccabi took the title.
In related news, the Israel National Team will be in friendly action at Montenegro on Saturday night and will then travel to Portugal to meet up with Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. next Wednesday just ahead of the European Championships.
Head coach Willi Ruttensteiner called up 26 players, including some up-and-coming stars to gain experience ahead of a World Cup qualifying campaign that will begin in September.
The goalkeepers selected for the pair of friendlies included Ofir Marciano, Boris Kleiman and Itamar Nitzan. Eli Dasa, Orel Dagani, Joel Abu Hana, Ofri Arad, Eitan Tibi, Ori Dahan, Baltaxa, Or Blorian, Sun Menachem and Ofir Davidzada will be the defenders, while the midfielders will include Peretz, Bibras Natcho, Aviel Zargari, Neta Lavi, Manor Solomon, Gadi Kinda and Muhamed Abu Fani. The attackers will be Osama Khalaila, Eran Zahavi, Yunes Malada and Liel Abada.
Lastly, Beitar Jerusalem has appointed Erwin Koeman as the club’s new head coach. Erwin is the brother of Ronald Koeman, who was in charge of Barcelona this past season, and he played with Beitar Sporting Director Eli Ohana at Mechelen.