Tira — Hapoel Bnei Musmus: 1:1, Liga Alef

Tira and Hapoel Bnei Musmus drew 1:1 in the North division of Liga Alef on Wednesday evening. Both sides had chances to take all three points but ended up splitting them at the ground. The result keeps the hosts second in the standings while the visitors remain in sixth place.

And here's the thing about the opening exchanges. A. R. Gheilani fired home twice in quick succession, the first in the twenty-fourth minute and the second three minutes later. By then Tira had built a lead that looked comfortable enough. Hapoel Bnei Musmus pushed back hard and found their way back into the game. A Karim scored in the sixty-sixth minute to level things after another goal in the sixty-fifth minute.

To be fair, the statistics tell a different story from the scoreboard. The visitors had more possession at 56 per cent and launched 79 attacks compared with 45. They also registered five shots on target against two. And yet the home side held on, collecting 22 points from 22 games while the away side sits on 33 from 21 outings.

Both teams picked up three yellow cards each. The hosts managed only one corner while the visitors earned five. Neither side saw a red card or an offside call, which says something about the discipline on show.

We had backed the home side to win at 55 per cent confidence, but the match went another way. Those early goals looked decisive until the visitors found their rhythm in the second half. The draw means neither team gains ground on the other in the table.