Maccabi Ashdod Set for Historic League Debut with Full Squad

Maccabi Ashdod is poised to play its first-ever game in the Winner League on Thursday at 8:15 PM against Nes Ziona. For the first time this season, and unlike in the Winner Cup, the team will field a full roster. Augustine Rubit, who has been sidelined with an injury, is not fully recovered but will play, as will Ben Calhoun Gold, who missed the game against Maccabi Ramat Gan due to illness, and Sean Dawson, who did not participate in the initial games.

The team is making a significant effort to attract fans to the Kirya Arena, including a visit to the Ratemim school in the city on Thursday where players met children and distributed invitations with ticket purchase codes.

Ahead of the game and his team's debut in the Premier League, coach Dan Katzir expressed excitement. "It's exciting to start a season, regardless of the league," Katzir said. "Obviously, our story makes it a bit more. We've prepared for this moment for the last month and a half and feel we're completely there. No less importantly, we need the fans with us. They are our sixth player, and we expect to see the arena as full as possible, pushing the team to victory."

Katzir also commented on having a full squad for the first time since training began. "Every team goes through these things, and it's no excuse. I take it as a positive, that we are worth more than what we've shown." Experienced player Augustine Rubit stated, "I feel great. This is what we train for during the preparation period. It's a great opportunity to show ourselves in front of our fans, and we'll come prepared." Regarding the opponent, whom he knows some players personally, Rubit added, "They are a good team with an impressive roster. I've played against some of their players elsewhere, and I'll play against Freddy Gillespie tomorrow, who I played with at Bayern Munich. It will be interesting to compete against him in the same position. We'll need to come prepared to beat a truly good team. We've had a complex preparation period, and only on Saturday did we train together for the first time because Sean got injured initially, and then I did. We are still building our chemistry."