Maccabi Netanya

Match report

Maccabi Tel Aviv secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Maccabi Netanya in the Toto Cup Ligat Al semi-finals on Saturday evening. The decisive moment arrived in the seventeenth minute when H. Varela found the net for the visitors. Netanya's attack never quite found its rhythm against a Tel Aviv side that held their shape well throughout the ninety minutes.

Yellow cards came thick and fast as the match progressed, with five going to the home side and two to the away team. I. Sissokho picked up a booking early on at six minutes, while Varela himself was cautioned at the eighty-minute mark. The home side made three changes in the forty-sixth minute, bringing on G. Morozov, Y. Abuhazira and I. Noy in quick succession.

And here's the thing about the statistics — both teams registered three shots on target, but Netanya fired eleven times off target compared to Tel Aviv's five. The home side enjoyed 49 percent possession against 51 percent for the visitors, yet it was the away team who took all three points. Attacks were evenly matched at 92 for Netanya and 94 for Tel Aviv.

Substitutions continued to pepper the second half, with Tel Aviv bringing on O. Davida and S. Abu Farkhi at sixty-one minutes. Netanya responded with M. Levi and I. Sissokho at sixty-seven, followed by O. Bilu at seventy-one. The visitors added A. Ouattara at eighty-nine minutes as they looked to see out the game.

By then, the result was beyond doubt. Tel Aviv advance on aggregate, though the return fixture will determine who progresses to the final. Netanya's recent form — including victories over Hapoel Petah Tikva and Maccabi Petah Tikwa — couldn't quite translate into a breakthrough performance on this occasion.

Prepared from match data

Key numbers

Possession, % 49 – 51

Shots on target 3 – 3

Shots off target 11 – 5

Attacks 92 – 94

🟨 6' I. Sissokho — Yellow card ⚽ 17' H. Varela — Goal 🟨 45+2' Yellow card ⇄ 46' G. Morozov — Substitution ⇄ 46' Y. Abuhazira — Substitution ⇄ 46' I. Noy — Substitution ⇄ 61' O. Davida — Substitution ⇄ 61' S. Abu Farkhi — Substitution 🟨 64' Yellow card ⇄ 67' M. Levi — Substitution ⇄ 67' I. Sissokho — Substitution ⇄ 71' O. Bilu — Substitution 🟨 73' Yellow card 🟨 80' H. Varela — Yellow card 🟨 80' K. Jaber — Yellow card ⇄ 80' H. Varela — Substitution 🟨 87' Yellow card ⇄ 89' A. Ouattara — Substitution

Match events

6' 0:0 Maccabi Tel Aviv Yellow card I. Sissokho
17' 0:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv Goal H. Varela assist: D. Peretz
45+2' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Yellow card
46' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Substitution G. Morozov off: K. Jaber
46' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Substitution Y. Abuhazira off: D. Haziza
46' 0:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv Substitution I. Noy off: I. Shahar
61' 0:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv Substitution O. Davida off: I. Ben Simon
61' 0:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv Substitution S. Abu Farkhi off: E. Sokler
64' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Yellow card
67' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Substitution M. Levi off: N. Niddam
67' 0:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv Substitution I. Sissokho off: D. Glazer
71' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Substitution O. Bilu off: D. Hugi
73' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Yellow card
80' 0:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv Yellow card H. Varela
80' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Yellow card K. Jaber
80' 0:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv Substitution H. Varela off: S. Rosen
87' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Yellow card
89' 0:1 Maccabi Netanya Substitution A. Ouattara off: A. Talpa

Statistics

49 Possession, % 51

3 Shots on target 3

11 Shots off target 5

92 Attacks 94

3 Corners 3

5 Yellow cards 2

0 Red cards 0

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