Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Haifa played out a 1-1 draw in the third round of the Ligat Ha'al on Monday evening. The result keeps the hosts fourth on four points while the visitors remain tenth with two.
Alon Turgeman gave Netanya the lead in the seventeenth minute and his side looked comfortable for a spell. They pushed forward with purpose, but Hapoel refused to fold under pressure. By then, the visitors were settling into the game and finding a way back into it.
Things came to a head in the forty-ninth minute when a VAR review pointed to a penalty for Haifa. Davó stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, five minutes later, to level matters. It was a moment that shifted the momentum entirely.
Netanya dominated possession at 55 per cent but Hapoel created more danger. The visitors registered 2.85 expected goals against 1.66 for the hosts. Both teams registered six shots on target, yet the visitors found a way through when it mattered most.
The draw ends a barren run for Hapoel, who have now drawn both opening fixtures. Netanya will take heart from their attacking output but will wonder what might have been. Cup football has its own rules, and this season is hardly begun yet.
