Maccabi Haifa beat Ironi Tiveriada 4:2 in the Toto League Cup regular season on Tuesday evening. The hosts kept their momentum going after a difficult run of results, while the visitors accumulated another defeat. By then the pattern was becoming clear — Haifa had the appetite for the game and didn't let it slip.
The opening goal came in the eighteenth minute when Bruninho found the net. Ironi Tiveriada tried to respond and earned a corner, but couldn't convert. And here's the thing — the visitors switched off at a set piece in the thirty-fourth minute, and N. Chen turned the ball into his own net to double the lead.
Haifa extended their advantage before the break. E. Azoulay scored in the forty-fourth minute, and Q. Ghanem added another in the forty-fifth, giving the home side a comfortable cushion before the interval. To be fair, the visitors showed resilience and pulled one back through Ghanem himself in the fifty-eighth minute, but it felt like damage limitation rather than a genuine comeback.
There were several changes from both sides as the match progressed. B. Cohen came on for Haifa in the forty-sixth minute, followed by K. Gorre in the fifty-sixth. Ironi Tiveriada brought on N. Gbamble in the sixty-sixth and L. Yarin in the sixty-eighth, while Haifa added J. Bataille and A. Cohen later on. Silva Kani sealed the result with an eighty-sixth minute goal.
The statistics told the story of one-sided dominance. Haifa controlled 70 per cent of possession and launched 133 attacks compared to just 76 from the visitors. They registered six shots on target with twelve missing the mark, while Ironi Tiveriada managed five shots on target and eight off target. The hosts also won five corners to one.
This result gives Maccabi Haifa a boost after recent setbacks, including a 0:3 loss to Ironi Kiryat Shmona and a 2:3 defeat to Hapoel Haifa. Ironi Tiveriada's form has been precarious, with losses to both Ironi Kiryat Shmona and Hapoel Haifa in their last three outings. The victory keeps them moving forward in the competition, while the visitors are left to regroup.