Jordan Shua's Unprecedented Bench Streak Continues for Beitar Jerusalem

For the third consecutive league match, Beitar Jerusalem's star player Jordan Shua has been placed on the bench, a situation not seen in years. Shua, a key offensive player for the team, was notably absent from the starting lineup against Hapoel Haifa on Saturday evening. This marks the third game in a row he has started from the sidelines.

This benching follows an incident earlier in the season where Shua provided an assist against Maccabi Petah Tikva, and subsequently shared, then deleted, a social media story stating he should start every game. While Shua came off the bench in two league matches during the 2024/25 regular season, he had started games both before and after those appearances.

The last time Shua experienced a streak of three consecutive league games starting from the bench was at the beginning of the 2021/22 season. Looking further back, if one counts games where Shua came off the bench after having previously started in the same season, the streak extends to his first season with Beitar Jerusalem in 2019/20.

In previous seasons, Shua has been a consistent starter. Last season, he started 31 out of 33 league games he played, and 28 out of 32 the season before. In the 2023/24 season, he started 30 out of 31 league matches. Coach Almog Cohen opted to maintain the attacking lineup that secured victories in the previous two games, keeping Shua on the bench.