The 31st round of the lower playoffs ended tonight (Monday) with a tremendous victory of Maccabi Petah Tikva over Hapoel Hadera. Ran Kozhuk’s apprentices secured a stay in the Premier League after defeating Haim Silves’ team 0:4, which was in trouble at the bottom of the table.
The Malavas dominated the opening of the game, but did not reach dangerous situations, until in the 23rd minute Anas Mahmid was sent into the box by Liran Hazan, and from a difficult angle he unleashed an accurate kick into the left corner of Guy Herman’s goal. Only three minutes passed, and Mahmeid completed a quick double with a close shot, after an excellent lift by Guy Dezent.
If the delay was not enough, then in the 40th minute James Adaney was sent off with a straight red card after raising his leg high and hitting Maor Levy. The decision was controversial and the VAR review lasted several minutes. Kozhuk’s team didn’t stop there and continued with the madness in the first half. On the verge of going down to the break, it was Maor Levy who made it 0:3 with a sharp kick outside the box.
The second half went smoothly, with the Malavas controlling the ball, but with few chances for either side. Despite this, in the 78th minute it was Jordan Cohen’s turn to join the celebration with a bomb from outside the box that determined the final result of the match. Towards the end of the match, Liran Hazan provided the miss of the season after kicking from close range outside the frame in front of an open goal.
Maccabi Petah Tikva closes a wonderful week for them, which included qualifying for the semi-finals of the State Cup and a great victory over Hapoel Hadera. Kozhuk can continue to celebrate after officially securing a stay in the Premier League. On the other hand, Haim Silves can be very worried, since the defeat he suffered put him in real danger of relegation.
Hadera is now in 11th place in the table with 33 points, two points above MS Ashdod and only three points more than Hapoel Tel Aviv, which is below the red line. If that doesn’t sound bad enough, it’s important to note that Hapoel Khedera has the most negative goal difference in the league (same as Hapoel Petah Tikva).
