Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., December 01, 2008 Kislev 4, 5769 | | Israel Time: 02:04 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File

Soccer / Maccabi Haifa opens up a gap as Netanya can't get its offense going By Moshe Boker and Uri Telshir Maccabi Haifa underwent an important test yesterday and came out alone at the top of the league table, defeating Ashdod S.C. 3-1, while Maccabi Netanya was held to a scoreless draw at home against Maccabi Petah Tikva. Elisha Levy, Haifa's head coach, knows the Ashdod pitch well from his three years coaching there from 2001 to 2004, and he prepared his players accordingly for the match. Missing two of his offensive stars - John Culma and Mohammed Ghadir - he put Eyal Golsa in the starting 11 for the first time this season. Golsa responded in kind by blowing past a Haifa defender to score Haifa's second goal with an elegant shot. Advertisement "It was the best game I've had in my career with Haifa," said Golsa. "What do you want?" he added. "It's my first time starting for Maccabi Haifa." Levy described Golsa as an "outstanding player with special talents." He noted that the team was playing without key personnel, "but it wasn't felt during the game. We met expectations, we made a very hard game easy. We're a balanced team headed in the right direction." Yossi Mizrahi, Ashdod's coach, also tried making changes with his substitutions, but the way Haifa looked last night, there was nothing Ashdod could have done to have come out with even a point. Haifa showed creativity and determination as it plundered Ashdod's notoriously weak defense. In the 34th minute, Thembinkosi Fanteni took the ball away from Ashdod midfielder Rogerio dos Santos, broke into the penalty area, passed Ashdod's goalkeeper and plunked the ball into the net for Haifa's first goal. After Golsa put Haifa up 2-0, Maccabi settled down and protected its lead, but that didn't stop the Greens from mounting one last sudden attack. In the 85th minute, Yaniv Katan made a long pass downfield to Alon Harazi, who found Biram Kiyal on a cross. Kiyal then rolled it in to finish off the scoring. Maccabi Netanya, in contrast, could not put together an effective attack during its scoreless draw at home with Petah Tikva. Lothar Matthaus, the team's German coach, has taken a lot of criticism for playing a very defensive strategy since his arrival last summer. Yesterday, he sent out an arsenal of strikers but to no avail. It appeared his players had grown so accustomed to his defensive style, they forgot there could be any other option. It wasn't until eight minutes into the second half that Netanya finally mounted a real threat. A cornerkick led to a penalty shot and a red card in Netanya's favor, but Ravid Gazal hit the upper bar. "It's likely Gazal wasn't focused," said Matthaus after the game. "Perhaps [Dedi] Ben Dayan or [Bevan] Fransman will make those kicks from now on." Even after Petah Tikva had to get by with 10 players, Ohad Cohen, its goalkeeper, hardly had to break a sweat to pass the time. By the end of the match, Netanya's players and fans were left wondering whether the team isn't more effective with three good defenders than with three mediocre strikers. Now, the league's second place team will have to wait a week to answer that question when it travels to meet Hapoel Petah Tikva. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Dancing on graves It is hard to believe that Pakistan is behind the Mumbai carnage. 'Tis the season Bethlehem mayor says Christmas season will cap a boom year for tourism.

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