Maccabi Tel Aviv Dominates Hapoel Tel Aviv in Youth Derby Thriller

Maccabi Tel Aviv, the current leader of the Israeli Youth Premier League, decisively defeated rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv 6-2 in their fifth-round match on Saturday. This victory extends Maccabi Tel Aviv's lead at the top of the league to five points over Hapoel Tel Aviv, who finished in the top spots last season. The game showcased promising young talent, notably Noam Azran, son of the late M.S. Ashdod legend Yaniv Azran, who opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Idan Yosef contributed a brace, scoring in the 19th and 83rd minutes, while Roy Gafni, who provided two assists, also found the net in the 38th minute. Substitute Roni Nissim scored in the 74th minute, and Rif Sheretzky completed the scoring in the 88th minute for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Hapoel Tel Aviv managed two goals from Ori Meir in the 21st and 57th minutes, playing without one of their key players, Yotam Kalfa, who was absent for personal reasons. Maccabi Tel Aviv now holds 15 points with a goal difference of 20-3, while Hapoel Tel Aviv remains on 10 points with a goal difference of 7-5. In other youth league matches, Maccabi Haifa defeated Hapoel Hadera 3-1, and Hapoel Haifa drew 1-1 with Maccabi Herzliya.