Maccabi Tel Aviv Suffers First Israeli Loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv in Toto Cup Final

Maccabi Tel Aviv was defeated 3-2 by Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Toto Cup final on Thursday, marking their first loss of the season to an Israeli team. Hapoel Tel Aviv secured the victory with goals from Roi Alkukim, Omri Altman, and Daniel Dafa, while Dor Peretz scored twice for Maccabi Tel Aviv late in the game. "This is a blow to the fans and the club. We are very disappointed," said Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Keni Miller. He attributed the loss to poor defensive play, stating, "With this kind of defense, you can't win in football." Miller acknowledged individual errors from players who have performed at a high level throughout the season, adding to the disappointment. He suggested that the team might need to refresh certain aspects of their play, given the available options in the squad. "We showed towards the end of the game how we play, we were there. We played the right way, but our tempo wasn't at the required level at the start of the game," Miller commented, noting that the team felt too comfortable for large parts of the match. Midfielder Dor Peretz expressed his deep disappointment with both the result and the team's performance, stating, "We didn't win tackles, we didn't get back on defense. That's the foundation, and we didn't deserve to win." Peretz also claimed that a penalty should have been awarded to his team, calling it "100 percent a penalty."