Hapoel Afula kept their perfect start intact with a 2-0 victory over Ashdod in the opening round of the Liga Leumit. The hosts struck early through A. Khalaila in the second minute and added a second in the seventy-sixth via R. Twizer, closing out a match where the table rankings held true. By then, Afula sat third with nine points from three wins, while Ashdod languished in sixth after two victories and one defeat.
We had tipped the visitors at 48 per cent confidence, but the game refused to follow the script. Ashdod controlled possession at 0.64 and registered 107 attacks to Afula's 62, yet those numbers meant nothing when the visitors held their nerve in the final third. The cancelled goal at the thirty-fifth minute via VAR should have told us something about how tight this would be.
It is easy to forget that shots on target tell only half the story. Ashdod registered six on target against three for Afula, but the hosts kept knocking on the door and took their chances when they mattered. The clean-sheet run came to an end for Ashdod, who had looked comfortable in their previous encounters before this one.
Statistically, the visitors dominated the midfield battle, completing more throw-ins and earning nine corners to Afula's zero. But the game was decided in moments — Khalaila's early burst and Twizer's late finish. Three or four decisive plays, not possession charts, are what separate these teams.
The result keeps Afula moving upward while Ashdod face a tougher task to recover ground. Eight points separate the two sides in the table, and the visitors will need to find a way to convert pressure into goals if they are to fancy their chances this season.