‘62 ⚽️ 0-1 Hamakhtesh Givatayim
‘66 ⚽️ 0-2 Hamakhtesh Givatayim
Top row (from left to right): David Martan, Fekado Golantau, Gaston Hilman, Ron Sharifi, Andre Walker, Michael Gontar, Ariel Peretz, Roey Sartov, Faris Abdulrasul, Azanao Aresto, Dandy Okougo, Leo Gewertz and Gabo Terkieltaub.
Bottom row (from left to right): Tal Amar, Liron Farada, Jaime Kauffman, Vlad Kart, Sam Sank, Niv Fak, Ilan Flax, Evgeny Kart, Evyatar Erez, Andy Gabay and Yuval Levi.
Not the ideal start to the 2020/21 Liga Gimmel season for our A team, but there were some positives to take from the 2-0 defeat to Hamakhtesh Givatayim. Our opponents are new to the league but have already been tipped to top the division, with the squad made up of a number of top-flight ex-professionals.
Following a rushed pre-season due to COVID-19, the team prepared to start the new season away from home at the Wolfson pitch on a breezy Saturday evening. New coach David Martan opted for a 4-4-1-1 formation with Tal Amar in goal behind a backline of Evgeny Kart, David Okougo, Sam Sank (c) and Niv Fak. Ahead of them, Faris Abdulrasul, Roey Sartov, Azanao Aresto and Ilan Flax made up the midfield, while Yuval Levi played just behind lone striker Evyatar Erez.
We got off to a good start as both sides were cautious in the opening period and neither team having any clear cut chances. The pace of the game was nonetheless fast and tackles were flying in from both sides. Our best opportunity of the first half came from Yuval, who played a one-two with Faris before curling a shot onto the top of the crossbar.
Coach David seemed pleased at half time with the scoreline but urged his side to stay compact and hit the hosts on the break with the speed of our front line. However, the gameplan was in danger as the home side broke the deadlock after an hour; playing some beautiful one-touch football around our penalty area and scoring past Tal in the goal.
Just two minutes later, Givatayim doubled their lead with an outrageous goal from the game's most dangerous player who saw Tal off his line before launching a shot into the net. The second goal effectively killed the game and the pace completely dropped as Givatayim saw the game out, with us barely carving out any chances.
David rang the changes during the last period with the likes of Gaston Hilman, Vlad Kart, Liron Farada, Andy Gabay and Jaime Kauffman all featuring, yet the scoreline stayed the same until the final whistle.
A disappointing evening to say the least but if that's the league's best team we can look optimistically ahead to the rest of the season and our objective to finish in the top 2 positions of our league and make the playoffs.
Match highlights: https://www.facebook.com/100000702533512/videos/3865144633518916/