25’ ⚽️ 1-0, Elitzur Yehud goal
34’ ⚽️ 1-1, Azanao Aristo goal, Ilan Flax assist
59’ ⚽️ 1-2, Andre Walker goal, Jaime Kauffman assist
65’ ⚽️ 1-3, Evyatar Erez goal, Yuval Levi assist
82’ ⚽️ 1-4, Evyatar Erez goal, Ron Sharifi assist
Top row (from left to right): Eli Falkon, David Martane, Davndy Okougo, Gaston Hilman, Ron Sharifi, Andre Walker, Leo Gewertz, Nadav Izmirli, Evyatar Erez, Yuval Levi and Azanao Aristo.
Bottom row (from left to right): Ariel Peretz, Jaime Kauffman, Andy Gabay, Roey Sartov, Sam Sank, Nico Perge, Vlad Kart and Ilan Flax.
The 2020/21 season came to a close last Friday with an away fixture against Elitzur Yehud. Head Coach David Martane knew that a win would secure 3rd place in the table, a respectable position despite missing out on the promotion playoffs.
David shuffled his starting lineup slightly but there was a strong squad at his disposal as we lined up in the scorching heat in Yehud.
We seemed relatively in control from the kickoff and were creating some half chances, yet it was the home side who broke the deadlock first. Yehud's central midfielder was unchallenged as he made his way into the box and his shot evaded Leo Gewertz and trickled into the corner.
The Yehud goal kickstarted our side into some urgency and we were level within 10 minutes of going behind. A free-kick from the left-hand side was taken by Ilan Flax, whose delightful cross was met by Azanao Aristo with a strong header into the top corner, continuing his recent run of goalscoring form.
The scores remained level until the half time break and it may have been that the extreme heat was taking its toll on our side but as the game went on it was our superior fitness that proved significant.
Leo didn't have much to do in the Inter goal in the second half as we relentlessly rained down on the Yehud goal. Our second goal came courtesy of Andre Walker, in what will likely be his final game for the club before returning to Ecuador. The striker took Jaime Kauffman's pass first time and the powerful strike put us into the lead.
From then on, it was attack after attack and we probably should have scored more than two goals in the final half an hour. Substitute Evyatar Erez grabbed a brace with neat finishes, converting from both Yuval Levi and Ron Sharifi.
The win meant a 3rd place finish for the 2020/21 season in Liga Gimmel and we end the season with the best defensive record in the league, a feat we have achieved now for the second season in a row.
We now break for the summer and will return ahead of the 2021/22 season. Thank you for the incredible support all year and we look forward to seeing you again next season.