Soccer: Maccabi Haifa, Bnei Sakhnin triumph in Cup quarterfinals

Both record 1-0 second leg wins, completing double victories over Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Netanya respectively.

By ALLON SINAI
Avi Nimni 224.88 (photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Avi Nimni 224.88
(photo credit: Asaf Kliger)
Maccabi Haifa and Bnei Sakhnin joined Betar Jerusalem and Bnei Yehuda in the semifinals of the Toto Cup on Wednesday evening. Haifa and Sakhnin both won 1-0 in their quarterfinal second legs on Wednesday, completing double victories over Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Netanya respectively. "It was important to us to advance," Haifa coach Roni Levy said. "We also managed to give some of our reserve players a run-out." Renato scored Haifa's winner in the 53rd minute with a powerful header, giving his team a 2-0 aggregate victory. Haifa was far from its best on Wednesday, but controlled the match nevertheless and deserved to win. "We played with youngsters and bench players, but we're still disappointed with the result," Tel Aviv coach Nir Levin said. "We must record good results on a consistent basis. I was thinking of our important league match against Ashdod from the very beginning of the game and picked my lineup accordingly." Sakhnin, which defeated Netanya 2-0 in the first leg, all but clinched its place in the semifinals after Liron Vilner scored the only goal of the match in the fifth minute of Wednesday's game. The draw for the last four will be made Thursday at Israel Football Association headquarters in Ramat Gan.