Maccabi Haifa Suffers Third Heaviest Defeat at Sammy Ofer Stadium

Maccabi Haifa experienced a night to forget as they were soundly defeated 5-2 by Hapoel Be'er Sheva at Sammy Ofer Stadium. This result is considered rare for a team regarded as one of Israel's top football clubs.

This loss marks the third-heaviest defeat Maccabi Haifa has suffered at Sammy Ofer across all competitions, following a 5-1 loss to Hapoel Haifa. In league play, it represents their second-highest margin of defeat at the venue.

The heaviest defeat at Sammy Ofer was a 6-1 loss to Benfica in November 2022 during the Champions League group stage finale, which ended Haifa's European campaign. Notably, four of Benfica's goals were scored in the second half of that match.

Another significant defeat was the 5-1 loss to Hapoel Haifa in May 2025, where Javon East scored a hat-trick and Tiémoko Diarra added a brace. In all these heavy defeats, Barak Bakhar was the coach on the sidelines for Maccabi Haifa.

Furthermore, this is the first time Maccabi Haifa has conceded five goals in a single half since the final match of the 2015/16 season. In that game, Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated them 6-0 at Bloomfield Stadium, though Bakhar was celebrating a league title with Hapoel Be'er Sheva that evening.