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Soccer / Premier League / Haifa clinches fourth title in six seasons By Moshe Harush A 2-0 victory over hosts Maccabi Netanya yesterday sealed Maccabi Haifa's title of 2008-09 Premier League champions and sent hundreds of fans celebrating Haifa's fourth top-spot in six seasons. Goals by Thembinkosi Fanteni and Biram Kiyal sealed the match and mathematically eliminated Hapoel Tel Aviv from the race. Advertisement Although no official statement has gone out, it seems clear that Elisha Levy - the coach who took flak as the team went into a midseason slump and temporarily fell from the top of the league table - will have his contract extended for at least one more season. "It's a given that I'll stay another season," said Levy after the match. "We just have to wait for the official announcement." Levy had a tough time hiding his elation. "It's hard to describe in words what I'm feeling," he said. "I haven't had something like this. I came from Beit She'an to the great Haifa and delivered a championship in my first year. It's a tremendous joy." Looking back at the season, Levy said: "We took maximal advantage of the pool of players, we won the championship, and we are on the verge of winning a double. It's hard winning the championship if you're not the best, and without a doubt we were the best team. I probably had to win a championship for them to say that I [deserve to be] a coach for the big teams." The coach said it was important to now focus on Tuesday's State Cup final against Beitar Jerusalem. "It won't be simple," he said. Yaniv Katan, whose performance against Hapoel Tel Aviv Monday was a significant factor in winning the title, commented, "Haifa is the champion, and that is the important thing. There was a lot of criticism this season. We were able to play sharp football at times, and we're incredibly happy." Goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch, who won his sixth championship, added: "It's one of my more sweet titles. It was a close and hard-fought battle throughout the entire season. The moment we took first place and led the league for a while, we knew we had to end the season with a championship. I'm happy we displayed a lot of character and sometimes did it with style, too." At the other end of the league table, Kiryat Shmona kept its hopes of avoiding relegation going with a scoreless draw against Bnei Yehuda. However, Hakoah Ramat Gan has one game in hand and faces Hapoel Tel Aviv Tuesday. Fifty-fifty Beitar Jerusalem accomplished half its goals yesterday, which its fans had requested. While it defeated Bnei Sakhnin 3-0 and kept its rival's chances of relegation alive, it failed to help Barak Itzhaki score two goals and thus be the league's sole leading scorer. Itzhaki did score the match's first goal in the 25th minute, but Aviram Baruchyan and Shmuel Kozokin bagged the others for Beitar, leaving Itzhaki tied for first with Hapoel Petah Tikva's Shimon Abu Hazira on 14 goals apiece. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Banning Nakba Ministerial panel approves bill which could make it illegal to mourn Independence Day. Defying Obama Netanyahu pledges not to form settlements, but says building in existing towns is fair.

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