Soccer / Hapoel sweeps 'little derby'

Gil Vermouth and Itay Shechter returned to form, leading Hapoel Tel Aviv to a smooth 4-0 rout of their cross-town rival Bnei Yehuda at Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa last night.

The victory keeps Hapoel within shooting distance of first-place Maccabi Haifa and ensures a sweep of the Tel Aviv clubs this season.

After last week's disappointing draw against Hapoel Petah Tikva, Eli Guttman's charges knew that another malfunction and a loss of points would spell the end of Hapoel Tel Aviv's dreams of winning the Premier League championship. The Reds were determined to show the country that they did not forget how to create scoring opportunities and dance around the defense. The only thing they needed was a pitch that could serve as a normal playing surface.

Bnei Yehuda was simply an ornament, barely mustering any challenge to the Premier League's second-best club. Now Guttman will be crossing his fingers and rooting for his hated nemesis, Maccabi Tel Aviv, to beat first-place Maccabi Haifa tonight.

"We came out to the pitch very determined," Guttman said. "We played a brand of soccer that included tactical discipline and when we play aggressively and close to one another, these are the results."

Guttman added: "We neutralized Bnei Yehuda and we created a lot of chances to score. This is how we need to play."

"There's still a long way to go," the coach said. "We're still checking ourselves and whatever has to happen will happen."

In the 11th minute, Vermouth set up Avihai Yadin, who camped out 18 meters from the goal and blasted a shot past Bnei Yehuda goalkeeper Dele Aiyenugba to give Hapoel a 1-0 lead. Bnei Yehuda would have been more than satisfied with a 0-1 result, except that the squad did not seem to make a collective effort to preserve the one-goal deficit. Shechter penetrated the heart of the Bnei Yehuda backfield, evaded two hapless defenders and converted to give Hapoel a 2-0 lead in the 21st minute. Bnei Yehuda coach Guy Luzon was incensed on the sidelines, becoming resigned to his overmatched squad's fate.

In the 38th minute, Hapoel forward Eran Zahavi placed one on goal from a sharp angle. The ball ricocheted off Aiyenugba and skipped into the net for a 3-0 Hapoel advantage.

Bnei Yehuda sought to save face in the second half, though that task became infinitely more difficult after defender Itzik Azuz was red-carded. Spurred on by their rowdy supporters, Hapoel kept sustained pressure on Bnei Yehuda, and it finally paid off. Shechter set up his fellow forward Vermouth in the 90th minute to cap a 4-0 victory.

"We made this game look easy even though Bnei Yehuda is a good team," Vermouth said. "After the draw against Hapoel Petah Tikva, we came to this game very charged with a lot of desire to prove that what happened last week was a mishap."

"Hapoel dominated the pitch today and won this game justifiably," Luzon said. "I don't remember the last time when we fell apart like that in the last year-and-a-half, but when you don't play well and allow goals, this is what happens."

"Anything I say right now will just be an excuse," a dejected Luzon said following the match. "We need to forget about this game and to think ahead."