Maccabi Haifa secured a narrow 2:1 victory over Hapoel Petah-Tikva in the third round of the Ligat Ha'Al on Saturday evening. The result puts the hosts three points clear at third place, while the visitors remain in eighth with just one win from three outings. By then, both sides had already shown the character you expect from a derby with no love lost.
The opening half was a cagey affair with chances coming and going. To be fair, the most significant moment arrived at minute forty-four when Euclides·Tavares Andrade saw his penalty saved. The miss shifted momentum, and Tomer Altman picked up a yellow card shortly after as tensions rose on the touchline.
Andrija Novakovich changed the complexion at minute fifty-five with a well-taken goal. The striker, who has been in and out of the starting lineup this season, showed his poaching instincts to put Maccabi ahead. Franck Rivollier and Tomer Altman were then substituted together at minute sixty-four, a double change that suggested the visitors were looking to regroup.
And here's the thing about this match — it was decided by moments, not sustained pressure. Boni Amian equalised at minute seventy-eight, but Bruninho provided the decisive response just seven minutes later. The goal was a counter-attack that caught the defence flat-footed, and it ended the clean-sheet run that Hapoel had been building through.
The statistics tell a story of dominance without conversion. Maccabi held 57 per cent possession and registered 76 attacks, yet their shots accuracy stood at just 20 per cent. They created three big chances compared to one for the visitors, and the expected goals figure of 1.86 tells you they should have scored more. The clean-sheet run came to an end, but the result was fair enough.
We had called a home win with 53 per cent confidence before kickoff, and the match played out along those lines. Maccabi cannot afford another slip if they want to challenge for the title, but this three-point haul builds momentum after the heavy defeat to Tel Aviv last week. The gap between third and eighth is now six points, and the table is beginning to take shape.