Summary: Maccabi Haifa - Hapoel Tel Aviv 0:0/Sport1
After a short team break, Maccabi Haifa began preparations for the opening of the top playoffs. On Sunday (8:30 p.m.) the Greens will host Bnei Rayna, the same team that beat them 1:2 in the previous meeting that kept them away from the top. Maccabi Haifa hopes to get a little revenge, but more importantly to score three points and even before that, they hope Sakhnin will take points from Maccabi Tel Aviv. Masai Dago have a headache up front with both of their strikers injured - Franzi Piero and Dean Dodd, who may be in the squad but won't start. Anan Halaili returned to training after starting the national team's match against Iceland, with the end of Podgora being considered for the starting line-up. Tomer Hamed may also be Dego's solution to the central striker position in Piero's absence.
Before the game, Dago commented on the court's decision not to give the team a point back. "Everyone who heard me this year knows that I don't like to make excuses. You all know what my team went through this year. We went through crises and a lot of things, but nothing can break this locker room. I'm only focused on the first game. For me, everything else is not interesting."
Only victory is in question. Masai Dago/Maor Alxalsi
About the confrontation between Abdulai Sek and Lorenzo Shimich, Dago said: "The club handled it properly behind the scenes, I only deal with the professional matter. It happens in all the biggest teams in the world, it means they care about the situation and the situation. We continue forward."
About Anan Halaili he said: "I spoke with Anan before he flew, I am happy about the process he went through and where he is, I hope it ends on the best side for him. We have a good relationship, he is a humble boy, knows how to stay with his feet on the ground. I told him That right now it's important to remain humble. He's such a boy, comes from such a home, I'm sure he'll neutralize the noises."
Sean Goldberg added: "The gap in the table is big, but we try not to look at it. We have confidence, we know what we are worth. We proved this year that we can come back from a big gap and there are still 30 points left in the pot. It's still up to us."
Goldberg even commented on the situation in the Israeli national team: "We didn't live up to our mission in the bottom line. There were difficulties, but that's no excuse. I love Yossi Benyon and Alon Hazan and believe very much in their path. It sucks that they don't continue."
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