Bnei Yehuda moved further clear at the summit of Liga Leumit with a 4-2 victory over Ironi Modiin in the fifth round of the regular season on Thursday. The visitors took control after a competitive opening half, then pulled away with a flurry of goals in the second period to seal three points away from home.
S. Nachmani gave the hosts an early advantage, scoring in the fifteenth minute and adding another in the thirty-first before Bnei Yehuda responded. S. Dror pulled one back in the thirty-eighth, and the visitors found a level shortly after in the thirty-ninth. By then, and here's the thing, the momentum had shifted. Hirsh scored twice in the second half, in the fifty-ninth and sixty-fourth minutes, while Modiin's own goal in the seventy-ninth added to their misery.
The statistics tell a story of dominance without total control. Bnei Yehuda enjoyed 53 per cent possession and registered ten shots on target compared to six for the hosts. They also generated more attacks — 87 to 74 — but the margin between the scoreline and the expected output suggests some finishing issues on both sides.
We had tipped a home win, but to be fair, the visitors' consistency was the real indicator. Their recent form — 0:0, 3:0, 3:1, 4:1, 1:1 — showed a side that keeps clean sheets when needed and scores when they must. The prediction came through, and it wasn't a surprise.
The result leaves Bnei Yehuda five points clear at the top with four wins and a draw from five matches. Modiin sit tenth with five points from one victory, two draws and two defeats. The gap between them is now substantial, and the hosts will need to tighten things up quickly if they want to climb away from the bottom half.
What stands out is not the number of shots but the timing. Modiin scored early and led at the break, but Bnei Yehuda scored three goals after the interval, including an own goal that came as the hosts were pushing for a comeback. Games are often won in these windows, and the visitors took theirs.