Maccabi lost 2:3 to Hapoel Haifa in the opening round of the Toto Cup. Khalaili (75’) and Azoulay (79’) narrowed the score for the Greens in the second half.
Toto Cup - Group Stage - 1st fixture | Maccabi Haifa vs Hapoel Haifa | Sammy Ofer Stadium
Maccabi’s line-up: Omri Glazer (C), Zohar Zasano, Goni Naor, Noam Sztejfman, Sean Goldberg, Yarin Levi, Ethan Azoulay, Yair Mordechai, Cedric Don, Iyad Khalaili, Adam Grimberg.
Kick Off
7’ Don makes a brilliant run down the flank and whips a dangerous cross into the box, where Grimberg lays it off to Azoulay, but Gerafi, Hapoel’s goalkeeper, collects his shot.
31’ GOAL! Gonen receives the ball about 18 meters from the target and shoots it into the top corner. 0:1 for Hapoel
32’ Yellow Card: Yaad Gonen (Hapoel)
32’ Yellow Card: Ethan Azoulay (Maccabi)
32’ Yellow Card: Omri Glazer (Maccabi)
33’ GOAL! Mendy passes a low cross to Gonen, who gets a touch, but the ball takes a deflection off Sztejfman and ends up in Glazer’s net. 0:2 for Hapoel
45’+1’ Mordechai sends a through ball to Grimberg, who strikes it with a single touch, but Gerafi is well positioned to make the save.
Second Half
46’ Double substitution for Maccabi: Kenji Gorre and Guy Melamed in, Zohar Zasan and Adam Grimberg out.
49’ Gorre receives the ball on the wing and lays it off to Mordechai, who beats his marker and shoots from a tight angle, but Gerafi makes the save.
56’ Yellow Card: Goni Naor (Maccabi)
58’ GOAL! Alon Torgeman takes a free kick and shoots it accurately into the net. 0:3 for Hapoel
61’ Double substitution for Maccabi: Bruno “Bruninho” Roberto Pereira da Silva and Ali Mohamed in, Yair Mordechai and Yarin Levi out.
62’ Gorre receives the ball on the wing, shakes off his defender, and shoots, but the ball goes over the crossbar.
63’ Yellow Card: Ivan Kricak (Hapoel)
66’ Yellow Card: Dario Zuparic (Hapoel)
67’ Azoulay takes a free kick from 18 meters, but the goalkeeper collects it
69’ Bruninho receives the ball on the left flank, he passes by his defender and shoots, but the ball goes wide.
71’ Melamed receives the ball at the edge of the box and shoots sharply, but the goalkeeper blocks the attempt.
72’ Substitution for Hapoel: Tal Naim in, Yaad Gonen out.
73’ Substitution for Maccabi: Wenderson “Tsunami” de Freitas Soares in, Goni Naor out.
75’ GOAL! Gorre delivers a cross into the box, and Khalaili times his run perfectly to head the ball past Gerafi and into the net. 1:3 for Hapoel
75’ Assist: Kenji Gorre
79’ GOAL! Gorre receives the ball on the wing and plays a superb pass to Azoulay, who unleashes a powerful strike from around 20 meters out that hits the crossbar and into Gerafi’s net. 2:3 for Hapoel
79’ Assist: Kenji Gorre
81’ Substitution for Hapoel: Muatez Hamed in, Alon Turgeman out.
87’ A superb through ball finds Don, who heads it down to Bruninho, but his header is cleared off the goal line by Gerafi for a corner.
88’ Double substitution for Hapoel: Dor Malul and Saar Elkayam in, Ariel Mendy and Waheb Habiballah out.
90’+3’ Gorre receives the ball on the wing, drives into the box, and fires a low shot toward the near post, but the ball goes straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.
90’+6’ Final whistle. Maccabi lost 2:3 in the derby of Haifa.
