Hapoel Ra'anana ran riot against Hapoel Kfar Sava, winning 6:1 in the fourth round of the Liga Leumit regular season. The hosts seized control early and never let the visitors back into the contest. By half-time the deficit was already two goals, and the match had become a procession.
P. Michael opened the scoring in the third minute, a sharp strike that caught the defence flat-footed. N. Hagani doubled the advantage sixteen minutes in, and the visitors looked rattled from that point. The hosts were second to everything in those opening exchanges, but the result told a different story.
D. Atlan ended any lingering hope with two goals in the space of eight minutes, first in the sixty-third and then in the seventy-first. O. Roizman added a fifth in the seventy-fifth, and G. D. Aviv made it six in the eightieth. The visitors had nothing left to offer by then, and the scoreboard reflected the gulf.
R. Olitski was sent off in the eighty-third minute for a second bookable offence, leaving Kfar Sava to see out the final minutes with ten men. D. Atlan completed his hat-trick in the eighty-eighth, a fitting end to a dominant display. The red card came late, but the damage had been done long before.
Statistics told a tale of control rather than dominance. Ra'anana held 46 per cent possession and registered seven shots on target, while Kfar Sava had 54 per cent possession but only three shots on target. The visitors had more attacks, 75 to 70, but were second to everything in the final third.
We had backed the visitors at 37 per cent confidence before kickoff. The prediction did not hold up. Ra'anana's early goal changed the complexion of the game, and the visitors never found a rhythm. Money has come for the hosts, and they are showing it on the pitch.
The win moves Ra'anana to second place with nine points from four games, sitting on three wins and a single defeat. Kfar Sava remain fifteenth on three points, one victory and three losses. The gap between them is now six points, and the visitors' unbeaten run came to an abrupt end.
