Maccabi Haifa welcomed Maccabi Petah Tikvah to Sammy Ofer in Matchday 20 of the Israeli Premier League. This was the first match under new manager, Fred Rutten. The Dutchman aims to guide Maccabi Haifa to a strong finish this season and build on the big win last week against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli State Cup.
 
The first chance of the half came within the first minute of play, when Kostadinov beat two defenders, passed to Caio, then the Brazilian sent a through ball that was just too long to Rukavytsya. In the 14^th minute, Mabouka sent in a dangerous curling ball that almost found the foot of Rukavytsya, but the Petah Tikva goalkeeper, Yossi Ginzburg, collected the cross. Minutes later, Klaus had an opportunity, but his shot was deflected out for a corner. The Greens kept pressuring the Petah Tikva defense, creating dangerous opportunities through the opening 20 minutes of the match. With crisp passing, Haifa created more build up play and looked the better of the two sides.
 
In the 32^nd minute, Petah Tikva had a shot from 40 meters out that hit post and ricocheted off Omri Glazer, to go out for a corner. In the 36^th minute, Maccabi Petah Tikva broke through the Haifa defense and Lidor Cohen scored to put the visitors up 1:0. Minutes later, Rukavytsya equalized 1:1 after Mabouka capitalized on an error from Yaniv Brik, and crossed a ball that Rukavytsya put in the back of the net in the 41^st minute. Entering the break, both sides looked for the go-ahead goal.
 
Early in the second half, the Greens used their first substitution when Ofir Mizrachi replaced Rukavytsya. With the match lacking scoring opportunities, Rutten decided to replace Klaus with Omer Demari in the 63^rd minute. Five minutes later, Haifa put unrelenting pressure on the Ginzberg, but they could not find the go-ahead goal. In the 78^th minute, Caio darted past three Petah Tikva players and had a shot to the right, but Ginzberg was able to get his fingertips to the ball and deny the Brazilian. Two minutes later, the third change was made when Shlomi Azulay entered the match for Caio. The Greens could not find another goal in the match, and the score ended 1:1.