M.S. Ashdod Stays Top of Liga Leumit After Dramatic Win

M.S. Ashdod maintained their lead in Israel's second-tier Liga Leumit with a dramatic 1-0 victory over M.S. Kafr Qasim on Friday, thanks to a spectacular stoppage-time volley from Dor Micha. This win followed a club-record eight consecutive victories that were broken by a draw in their previous match. The league leaders were close to another draw, which would have seen them lose their top spot, but Micha's goal in added time secured the crucial three points.

In another high-scoring affair, Bnei Yehuda bounced back from recent struggles with a resounding 5-1 win against M.S. Kiryat Yam. Raz Nachmias opened the scoring with a stunning aerial strike in the 15th minute, followed by Jonathan de Silva's solo effort. Kiryat Yam pulled one back through Ophir Attias before halftime, but Bnei Yehuda extended their lead with a penalty converted by Golan Beni and a late goal from Stav Nechmani, with Sahar Dabbah adding a fifth in the final minute.

Hapoel Kfar Shalem climbed to third place after a 3-0 away win against Hapoel Rishon LeZion, securing their fifth consecutive victory. Kfar Shalem capitalized on Rishon LeZion's struggles, including a red card, with goals from Liran Mizrahi (twice) and Or Dassa. Meanwhile, Hapoel Afula secured their second win in a row, defeating Hapoel Kfar Saba 2-0, while Maccabi Bnei Reineh suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to Ironi Modi'in.

In other matches, Hapoel Acre remains winless after 11 rounds following a 1-0 loss to Hapoel Raanana, who extended their winning streak against Acre to four games. Maccabi Herzliya secured a vital 1-0 win in a relegation battle against Maccabi Jaffa, with the decisive goal coming from an own goal. Maccabi Kiryat Gat and Maccabi Ahi Nazareth drew 2-2 in a bottom-of-the-table clash, with Kiryat Gat scoring a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time.