Local Soccer: Betar and Haifa play out incident-packed 1-1 draw

Game at Teddy Stadium features 10 yellow cards, three sending offs and goals by Keinan and Bruchian.

By JEREMY LAST
betar vs haifa 88 (photo credit: )
betar vs haifa 88
(photo credit: )
Betar Jerusalem and Maccabi Haifa played out a fiery 1-1 draw at Teddy Stadium on Sunday night which featured 10 yellow cards and three sending offs. Defender Dekel Keinan put the visiting Haifa side in front after only seven minutes. He was then sent off together with Jerusalem striker Barak Itzhaki in the tenth minute after an off the ball struggle, before Jerusalem equalized through a dubious Aviram Bruchian penalty on the stroke of half time. Late in the game Betar was reduced to nine men when Derek Boateng was sent off for a second yellow card. Betar's Argentinean Dario Fernandez was the star of the final game of the fourth round of the Israeli Premier League played out in front 18,000 supporters in the capital. But he was unable to provide a winning goal for the hosts. "All in all I'm pleased with my team's fighting spirit," Betar coach Reuven Atar said. "Both teams showed a lot of enthusiasm and we had quite a few chances, but Davidovitch had a good day." After losing 2-0 to Haifa in the same stadium in a Toto Cup game on Wednesday, Jerusalem was out for revenge. The match began at a frantic pace befitting of a game of this stature and it was not long before Gustavo Boccoli tried his luck after just six minutes with a super looping effort from well outside the box, forcing a wild diving save from Tvrtko Kale in the Betar goal. The opening goal came from the resulting corner kick. Yaniv Katan lofted the ball into the box and Keinan met the flick on to head past Kale, stunning the home support. If the game wasn't fired up enough already, three minutes later both Betar's Itzhaki and Keinan were sent off after a clash while waiting for a throw on to be taken. The national team teammates appeared to be jostling for position when the Jerusalem striker elbowed Keinan in the chest and he responded by slapping Itzhaki on the head. Haifa coach Elisha Levy responded by substituting young striker Lior Rafaelov for defender Eyal Meshumar. Betar coach Reuven Atar's decision to play Idan Tal at the back in place of the fit Yoav Ziv was causing problems for Betar as he stayed forward while the criticized Shimon Gershon was left to clear up in the space left on the left side of defense. Toto Tamuz had the home team's first real opportunity of the game in the 27th minute when he was put clean through on goal, but his shot was saved by Haifa goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch as was the rebound from Amit Ben-Shushan. While they were carving out less opportunities, the Haifa attacks were far more measured and dangerous than their opponents'. The resurgent Katan continued the rich vein of form he has found himself in this season, troubling the home defenders time and again. Betar came closest to equalizing when Tamuz directed a Dario Fernandez long range shot goalwards only to see Davidovitch save well and underline his candidacy for national team goalkeeper in front of Israel coach Dror Kashtan who was watching from the VIP section. With 45 minutes on the clock and the fans getting ready to for a half time cup of tea Haifa's Colombian summer signing John Culma gave away a penalty when he pushed Bruchian in the box and the ref pointed to the spot. Bruchian took the responsibility and calmly sent Davidovitch the wrong way to equalize. Ziv came on at half time for the hapless Tal but while the second half started smoothly the tension was getting to the teams and there were few chances at either end. Soon the encounter descended into what sometimes resembled some kind of rugby match, with players being fouled all over the pitch, none less than Fernandez who was continuously the victim of misplaced Haifa tackles. With a quarter of an hour left Boateng was sent off for a second yellow card and Jerusalem was down to nine men. Seven minutes from time Betar substitute Michael Zandberg roused the crowd when he fell in the box after being tackled by Peter Maslila, but referee Alon Yafet waved the penalty appeals away.