About 6,000 Greens supporters arrived tonight to the “HaMoshava” Stadium and created a great atmosphere. The manager, Rene Meulensteen, continued to give praise to the young midfielder, Ismail Rian, as Glynor Plet waited for his opportunity from the bench.
In the 27th minute, the Greens broke through to find the back of the net. Gili Vermouth sent a beautiful ball, which found Roey Kahat and he sent the ball past goalkeeper Danny Amos. This was Kahat’s first goal for the Greens. One minute after celebrating Kahat’s goal, the host’s surprised Meulensteen’s players and Dor Alo found space and sent the ball into Levita’s net, leveling the match 1-1. In the 33rd minute, Gili Vermouth continued to be the creator in the Haifa side when he passed the ball to Ismail Rian and the young midfielder shot the ball well, trying to squeeze it past Amos.
Haifa began the second half with the momentum. In the 54th minute Ismail Rian attempted a free kick from 20meters, however the attempt wasn’t on frame. In the 58th minute, Rene Meulensteen, made his first change of the match when Dutch striker, Glynor Plet, replaced Ismail Rian. Two minutes after the change, Vermouth sent a ball out wide and found Plet’s head but sent it over Amos’s goal. In the 73rd minute, Maccabi Petah Tikvah took the lead when Liroy Zairi shot the ball from 20meters out and found Levita’s net. Immediately following the goal, Haifa used their second substitution when Firas Mugrabi entered and Nikita Rukavytsya exited the game. In the 80th minute, Meulensteen used his last substitution when Shoval Gozlan came on in place of Roey Kahat. Then, in the 93rd minute, deep into injury time, Haifa broke through to score the game-tying goal. Gynor Plet sent a ball from out wide that found the feet of Shoval Gozlan and the striker found the back of the net, tying the game in dramatic fashion!
(Photography- Official Website - Joe Hirsh)
(Photography- Official Website - Joe Hirsh)
