First cup match of the season! The 8^th round of the Israeli State Cup 2019/20 encountered between Maccabi Haifa and Sektzia Ness Ziona. Marco Balbul’s players arrived at the match a week after the goalless draw against Hapoel Ra’anana at the Moshava Stadium and three days before the derby of Haifa at the league. On the other hand, the newcomers were encouraged after the 1:1 draw against M. Tel Aviv in the last league fixture. 
 
Maccabi’s line-up: Cohen, Lavi (c), Sainsbury, Habashi, Menachem, Fuchs, Ashkenazi, Haziza, Chery, Sallallich, Rukavytsya. 

 
Kick off 
 
3’ Haziza takes a free kick from the left side, Zalmanovich collects the ball. 
 
4’ Sallallich applies pressure on the ball, steals it and passes the ball to Ashkenazi who shoots from the right side to the close post and out of play. 
 
6’ Fuchs delivers an incisive pass to Sallallich and puts him in front of Ness Ziona’s goalkeeper who deflects the ball to a corner kick. 
 
10’ Sallallich storms nicely down the right flank, he passes the ball to Chery who shoots from 22 meters. The ball is blocked and cleared for a corner. 
 
21’ Chery gets the ball 30 meters away from goal, advances a few meters and shoots a sharp ball which goes flying next to the right post. 
 
24’ Haziza crosses a free kick from the left flank and finds Sainsbury, but his header goes out. 
 
33’ Haziza moves brilliantly from the left wing to the middle of the pitch, shoots powerfully to the far post and forces the keeper to stretch his body. 
 
36’ Ashkenazi gets the ball at the right edge of the box, advances and shoots, but the ball is blocked by Ness Ziona defense. 
 
45’  Sallallich steals the ball on the right flank and passes the ball to Ashkenazi who waits at the center of the pitch, lifts his right foot and shoots a strong ball that hits net! 1:0 for Maccabi. 
 
45’+2’ End of the first half. Maccabi leads 1:0. 
 
Second half 
 
48’ A nice team play ends when Menachem crosses the ball into the box, but the keeper gets to it before Rukavytsya. 
 
50’ Chery receives the ball from Haziza on the left side of the pitch and crosses the ball with a single touch, Zalmanovich hardly touches the ball and sends it behind the line for a corner. 
 
57’ Haziza receives the ball from Chery at the left side of the box, passes by his defender and shoots to the far post, the ball goes next to the post and out of play. 
 
62’ Substitution for Maccabi: Yarden Shua in, Nikita Rukavytsya out.
 
68’ Ashkenazi passes the ball to Haziza who crosses it into the box, Shua gets to it but the keeper collects the ball. 
 
71’ Osher Abu heads the ball into the net, Nes Ziona levels the score, 1:1. 
 
72’ Substitution for Maccabi: Maxim Plakuschenko in, Sintayehu Sallallich out.
 
79’ Substitution for Maccabi: Yanic Wildschut in, Tjaronn Chery out.
 
83’ Ashkenazi receives the ball at the right edge of the box and shoots from the air, the ball hits a defender and is deflected to a corner kick, the latter crosses the ball with a single touch, but Nes Ziona’s defense manage to clear the ball just a moment before the ball reaches Wildschut. 
 
90’+3’ It is 1:1 at the end of regular time, we are heading for extra time. 
 
Extra time 
 
94’ Ashkenazi gets the ball in the box, shoots but he is blocked. The ball gets to Wildschut who shoots with a single touch but he misses the frame. 
 
99’ Wildschut runs from the left side into the box, he leaves behind three defenders and shoots, the ball hits the wrong side of the net. 
 
102 Once again Wildschut storms down the left wing and crosses the ball, the keeper denies the attempt. 
 
102’ Plakuschenko receives the ball from a corner kick and shoots from 25 meters, the ball goes flying straight to the crossbar. 
 
104’ Plakuschenko crosses the the ball from the left flank, Haziza deflects it with his head to Shua who comes from the right side, but the striker is blocked by Zalmanovich in the last moment. 
 
105’ Menachem provides a sharp ball from the left wing, Haziza is first to the ball, but his header goes wide. 
 
105’+2’ Another lovely break by Wildschut who crosses the ball, Shua shoots and misses the target. 
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106’ Substitution for Maccabi: Ikouwem Utin in, Neta Lavi out.
 
112’ Menachem gets the ball on the left flank, delivers a sharp cross and Haziza scores with a great header! 2:1 for Maccabi!!
 
120’ A lovely counter attack by Maccabi ends when Shua sends Haziza in front of a goal and the midfielder scores his second goal! 3:1 for Maccabi!
 
120’+1’ Final whistle! Maccabi wins 3:1 and qualifies to the next round of the Israeli State Cup.