Hapoel Rishon LeTzion secured a narrow 2:1 victory over Kafr Qasim in their third match of the Ligo Leumit season, with S. Marab's late goal proving decisive. The result keeps the home side at the top of the table with three wins from three, while visitors fall further behind in ninth place with just three points.
And here's the thing about this one — it was settled early and then held together. D. Azulay opened the scoring in the third minute, then E. Henty doubled the lead just four minutes later. Kafr Qasim pulled one back through S. Marab in the 59th, but the hosts had already built enough of a cushion.
To be fair, the visitors had more attacking intent. They registered 87 attacks compared to 77, and won the possession battle 51 per cent to 49. But efficiency matters more than volume in these games, and Rishon LeTzion converted their chances while Kafr Qasim found themselves with four shots on target and only one result.
The statistics tell a story of control without dominance. Home side shots off target matched their shots on target at nine each, while the visitors managed just three off target against four on target. One yellow card for the hosts versus four for the visitors suggests Kafr Qasim grew increasingly desperate as the match wore on.
By then, Rishon LeTzion had extended their unbeaten run to eight matches across all competitions, though this was only their third league game. They won 2:1 against Maccabi Kiryat Gat and 2:0 against Hapoel Kafar Sava before the midweek loss to Klado and the goalless draw with Hapoel Petah Tikva.
Kafr Qasim's recent form shows a team finding their feet — a 4:0 win over Hapoel Acre followed this defeat, but they had also lost 0:2 to Hapoel Kafar Shalem and picked up two draws against Hapoel Raanana and Maccabi Kabylie Yaffo.
The gap between them now sits at six points, with Rishon LeTzion having played the same number of games. Cup football has its own rules, but this is a league campaign, and the hosts have already established a rhythm that visitors will need to break if they want to climb the table.