Maccabi Petah Tikva Secures Crucial Win Amidst Player Controversy

Maccabi Petah Tikva ended a five-game losing streak in the Israeli Premier League by defeating Hapoel Ramat Gan 2-1 in a crucial bottom-of-the-table clash.

Coach Ziv Arieh expressed relief at the victory, stating, "We'll take every win we can get. After five losses, some of them bizarre, we'll take the win and won't complain." He acknowledged defensive issues stemming from individual errors and set pieces but emphasized the need to work on them. Arieh also defended his decision to give goalkeeper Dor Hebron his debut, praising both Hebron and Maor Erlich as promising talents for Israeli football.

Looking ahead to the next match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Arieh acknowledged the squad and budget differences but vowed to fight for points. "It won't be easy, but we'll do everything to bring points," he said.

Player Guy Hadida, making his debut for Petah Tikva, expressed joy at returning to the field after a difficult period. "It's the most fun there is to play. I really missed it," Hadida stated, adding, "They did us players an injustice in the transfusion affair, that's clear. I won't receive a transfusion anymore."

Hapoel Ramat Gan coach Massai Dego lamented his team's first-half performance, calling it unacceptable. "We can't look like we did in the first half," Dego said, though he noted an improvement in the second half where the team "regained some of our honor and could have even equalized."

Dego also explained that double substitutions during warm-ups were due to muscle injuries sustained by key players David Asenka and Jota, which caused chaos in the locker room.