Hapoel Rishon LeZion beat Hapoel Kfar Sava 2:0 in their Liga Leumit opening fixture on Tuesday evening. The hosts took all three points at home, moving to the top of the table with a perfect record after three games. Two second-half goals proved too much for the visitors, who sit 14th with only three points from their first three matches.
E. Jankauskas broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, giving the home side a lead they would not relinquish. By then the game had settled into a rhythm the hosts understood, controlling tempo rather than just possession. The goal came after sustained pressure, not a fluke moment.
E. Henty doubled the advantage six minutes later, making the result comfortable and ending any hope of a comeback. The visitors switched off at the back twice in quick succession, and one mistake ends it when you are playing a side that knows how to punish you. Things came to a head after half an hour, not in the first period.
And here's the thing — we had backed the home side to win, with 59 per cent confidence, and the match played out exactly as we thought. Rishon LeZion had the game won inside twenty minutes of the second half, and Kfar Sava could not respond. The old head settled them down, and the result reflected their superiority.
The statistics tell a similar story. Home attacks: 53, away attacks: 55 — a near-even contest in volume. But Rishon LeZion shot better, with 7 on target compared to 6 for the visitors. Possession was split 47-53, yet the shots on target say who created the real chances.
The win moves Rishon LeZion to second place in the table, though they are level on points with whoever leads after the first round. Kfar Sava remain in the bottom half, two defeats from three games. The line has barely moved for the home side, and that is what matters now.