Hapoel Ramat-Gan produced a surprise victory at the Sammy Ofer Stadium, beating Maccabi Netanya 3-2 in the third match of the Toto Cup regular season on Saturday evening. The visitors finished with two goals from Matheus Davo, who opened the scoring before adding a late second to complete his brace. Netanya had fought back through a D. Asanka strike and a penalty from M. Plakushchenko, but could not find an equaliser after the Brazilian forward's late effort.
The opening exchanges belonged to the home side, who took the lead through Luan in the thirty-fourth minute. Matheus Davo responded almost immediately, finding the net in the thirty-ninth minute to restore parity. M. Semel picked up a yellow card for the hosts in the forty-first minute before being substituted at the break alongside A. Azugi for the visitors.
And here's the thing about second-half football — momentum can shift in an instant. D. Asanka gave Ramat-Gan the lead in the fifty-third minute, putting the visitors ahead for the first time. M. Plakushchenko then levelled from the spot after sixty-one minutes, his penalty adding to the drama of a match that refused to settle. Luan was among the first to come off for Netanya at that stage.
The match continued to throw up developments, with yellow cards for O. Shamir, D. Haziza and Jota adding to the tension. Netanya pushed for an equaliser through a series of substitutions, bringing on N. Niddam, F. Ibrahim and eventually M. Plakushchenko himself as the game wore on. By then the visitors had already secured their position.
Statistically, the home side dominated possession at fifty-one percent and registered more attacks with 121 compared to 95 for their opponents. Both teams hit the same number of shots off target at nine apiece, though Netanya managed eight on target to Ramat-Gan's six. The visitors made do with fewer corners and still found a way to take all three points.
The result extends what has been a mixed period for both sides. Netanya arrived having won their last two league matches against Maccabi Petah-Tikva and Hapoel Katmon Jerusalem, while Ramat-Gan had shown vulnerability with a heavy defeat to Paks earlier in the month. Saturday's outcome suggests that form, however recent, does not always predict what happens on the pitch.