Beitar celebrates bittersweet victory

After a horrendous season which saw Beitar Jerusalem's humiliation in the Champions League qualifying round and its abandonment by owner Arcadi Gayadamak, the club salvaged some of its lost honor last night by defeating Maccabi Haifa 2-1 in the State Cup final.

"The first half was amazing, and we managed to dictate the result," Beitar Jerusalem coach Reuven Atar said after the game. "The second half wasn't that good, but nobody will forget a State Cup match between Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Haifa. I'm happy we returned some honor to the club."

Beitar was first to score during the match. Idan Tal dribbled near the edge of the penalty box in the 19th minute, spotted Cristian Alvarez and lobbed the ball toward the Chilean defender, who sent a curved header over the Haifa's ill-positioned goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch.

In the 38th minute Beitar was awarded a free kick 25 meters from Haifa's goal. Barak Itzhaki stepped up and fired directly at Davidovitch, but instead of catching the ball the goalkeeper, who underperformed all night, fumbled it right toward Beitar's Avram Baruchyan who tapped in to make it 2-0.

From that moment on, Beitar took the field by storm and came repeatedly close to scoring a third.

It wasn't until the 79th minute that Haifa came back, after Beitar's young defender Eliran Danin was sent off for a second yellow card. Ten minutes later Biram Kiyal, perhaps Haifa's best player of the night, scored a penalty but the goal was too little, too late for his club.

Sad locker-room

"It's depressing, but we have to admit we didn't deserve to win," Davidovitch said in the locker room, which was particularly quiet.

At the same time, Beitar players were celebrating after a tough year, and perhaps no one was happier than coach Atar. The former Maccabi Haifa star was given the boot at the end of last season by Maccabi Netanya, which preferred to bring in German legend Lothar Matthaus as coach, hoping he would bring a title. Atar was hired by Beitar in midseason to replace Itzhak Shum, after the club got off to an abysmal start. Yet change came slow to Beitar, which continued to founder, and for a long time Atar was on the verge of being fired. Toward the end of the season the team's performances picked up considerably, and the club even came close to being a contender for the Premier League title.

"This is a greater achievement than any of my titles as a player," Atar declared.

Arik Benado, another former Maccabi Haifa player now with Beitar, said his club deserved to take the Cup home.

"Nobody is happier with me that we won," he said. "Haifa is a good team but our defense eventually took care of them."

Vet vows to continue

Meanwhile, his former teammate at Maccabi Haifa veteran defender Alon Harazi congratulated Beitar for winning. "They deserved it," Harazi said. "You can't make mistakes like that at this level."

The 38-year-old player, who recently broke the record for the number of games played in the Premier League, was asked whether he would continue next season. "God willing I will continue," he replied. "I'll stay as long as I'm wanted."

Meanwhile, thousands of supporters in Jerusalem converged on the local team's home ground Teddy Stadium, where the official celebrations were held.