JAFFA: The Israeli Premier League match of the season took place in rare conditions at the beginning of April in Israel - it was raining heavily.
With the war in Gaza and the north of the country still in the background, Monday’s battle between the country’s two biggest clubs was one of the last chances for Maccabi Haifa to stop Maccabi Tel Aviv from winning their first league title in three years.
Before the match, Robbie Keane and his Maccabi Tel Aviv side had a ten-point lead at the top of the table. A yellow victory would practically guarantee them the title in the coming games.
The rain created a terrific atmosphere at Bloomfield Stadium, but the lack of a roof at the ground meant thousands of fans could be seen hiding inside at the start of the match.
Just five minutes in, Maccabi Haifa had their first serious chance of the game.
An Ali Muhammad strike from inside the box led to a corner, and seconds later, Shon Goldberg found the post with a great shot from outside the box.
Maccabi Tel Aviv came close, too, as Ofir Davidzade hit the post with a brilliant strike in the 12th minute.
Two minutes later, the game had its first goal.
Eran Zahavi scored a terrific header after a fantastic Maccabi Tel Aviv attacking play left the veteran striker alone in the box.
It was 1-0 to the Yellows, and the sense of excitement in the stadium escalated.
The game was almost paused early on, as the Haifa stand was lit up in pyrotechnics, making it impossible to see the pitch.
Another problem was the rain - the pitch was soaked throughout the first half, upping the pace of the game, and encouraging attacks to flow from both sides.
On the half hour mark, Haifa’s Anan Khalaili - who is close to a lucrative move to Belgian side Union Saint Gilloise - received a yellow card after a foul outside Tel Aviv’s box.
Zahavi could have been celebrating a brace with another headed goal eight minutes later, but his attempt went above the bar.
Maccabi Tel Aviv continued to press, and Osher Davida made a great move and shot outside the box, but the ball went wide.
Haifa almost equalised just before the half - but Tel Aviv cleared a Dean David shot from inside the box.
An eventful first half also saw Joris van Overeem go off injured, with Dan Bitton replacing him.
It ended 1-0 to the locals, with many fans soaking wet and hiding from the rain.
First half was yellow, but the hints were there. Ali Muhammad and Dor Peretz fight for a ball (Photo courtesy: Maccabi Tel Aviv official website)
Second half
The second half started with some pressure from Maccabi Haifa, after Lior Rafaelov found David in the box, but he headed the ball too high.
After a brief pause caused by pyrotechnics in the Tel Aviv end, Haifa came even closer to equalising with a tremendous counterattack led by Mahmoud Jaber.
The game became more aggressive, and after Enric Saborit tripped Rafaelov, the latter pushed him in retaliation and saw a yellow card.
A mini-brawl evolved on the pitch, with Ali Muhammad and Idab Nahmias also seeing yellow.
Maccabi Tel Aviv almost scored their second on the 65th minute via a fantastic strike by Bitton, but it went only centimeters past Sharif Kaiouf’s post.
And they were made to pay for this miss, as the equaliser arrived just a few minutes later.
Khalaili, who was hurt two minutes earlier, received a ball outside the box, around 20m from goal, and released a direct thunderball straight into the back of the net.
It was now 1-1, and suddenly a flare was ignited underneath the game.
Tel Aviv started attacking in waves, and almost took a quick advantage through Zahavi and Felicio Milson.
In the last 10 minutes the game went from side-to-side, with each team coming close to scoring the winner.
But it wasn’t to be, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw, only delaying the expected ending for the season.
Keane and his players will have another opportunity to beat Haifa on their way to an inevitable title, when they travel to the Sammy Ofer Stadium at the end of the play-off round.
“First half we were the better team, second half they were the better team,” Keane said in the press conference after the game.
“They are a top team, and nothing is given in football. We still need to work for this,” he said.
When asked if it would be bitter-sweet to win the title without beating their direct rival, Keane said: “A football season is about winning it [all], not about what is happening in the middle [of the season]”.
Photo courtesy: Maccabi Tel Aviv official website.
