Bnei Yehuda drubs Hapoel Haifa 3-0

The game didn’t start well for the team from southern Tel Aviv, which hardly registered a dangerous shot on goal in the first 45 minutes.

By JEREMY LAST
After six games without a win, Bnei Yehuda finally got its season back on track on Monday night, overcoming a particularly weak Hapoel Haifa side 3-0 at Kiryat Eliezer stadium.
The game didn’t start well for the team from southern Tel Aviv, which hardly registered a dangerous shot on goal in the first 45 minutes.
However, coach Guy Luzon must have offered some stern words of encouragement at halftime, because the team in Orange came out fighting.
Two superbly taken volleys from Maharan Radi and Pedro Galvan gave Bnei Yehuda a well-deserved lead and the visitors cruised to victory, with Eliran Atar getting a third late on.
“I don’t have words to describe how badly we played in the first half, but we got back into things in the second half,” Luzon said. “I am very happy with this win.”
The result consolidated Bnei Yehuda’s hold on fourth position in the league standings, albeit 13 points behind third-place Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Hapoel Haifa, meanwhile, remains in 11th place, just five points above the relegation zone and without a win since December 19.
Bnei Yehuda came out of the locker room at halftime playing stronger soccer, and the pressure nearly paid off early on when Michael Zandberg headed from close range, forcing a remarkable save from Ohad Cohen in the Hapoel goal.
The inevitable goal came in the 56th minute, with Kfir Edri lifting the ball high into the box and Radi smashing it in on the half volley from the edge of the area.
The visitors doubled their lead 13 minutes later through another well-executed volley, this time courtesy of Galvan. The Argentinian gave Cohen no chance at all when he powered in an Asi Baldut cross from a few meters out.
Atar put the icing on the cake with 10 minutes to go, beating Cohen with a deftly struck left-footed shot from just inside the box.