Hapoel Tel Aviv dominates Beitar Jerusalem as Barda’s squad earns Premier League home victory

Beitar owner Barak Abramov acknowledged that his club has endured a difficult opening to the season but said there would be no panic following the defeat.

“I’m here after a game, which I normally don’t do, but it’s important for me to be here during the tough times,” Abramov said. “We have a good squad and we are only in the second round of games, so I’m not going to even look at the issues that we are having. We are looking for the right player and we won’t bring in a player that doesn’t upgrade the club.

“We want to bring in a No. 6, a midfielder, and I’m sure we will find one as well. I’m not here to tell you any stories. We are just not playing well right now, and that is something that a football club goes through. There won’t be any type of earthquake prior to the next game against Bnei Sakhnin.”

Hapoel coach Barda was pleased with his team’s performance but warned that expectations have now risen.

“I don’t think that we can use the word ‘easy’ for this win, but the players were ready and we did things right in the first half,” Barda said. “After Beitar had a player sent off, it took us a bit of time to get into the swing of things, but we did and finished off the game back at Bloomfield Stadium in front of our fans for the first time in quite a while.

“The players were very happy about the win, but we now have to prepare for the game against Hapoel Ramat Gan. There are now much more expectations on our team, and we have an even higher standard that we have to meet.”

Meanwhile, Hapoel Beersheba and Hapoel Haifa played to an entertaining 2-2 draw at Turner Stadium as Naor Sabag’s penalty deep into second-half stoppage time earned the Carmel Reds a share of the points.

Ron Kozuk’s Beersheba side started strongly, creating a number of chances in and around the box. Its pressure finally paid off in the 24th minute when Eliel Peretz scored from outside the box to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Hapoel Haifa, however, responded with a goal-of-the-season candidate from Alon Turgeman, who sent a spectacular volley past Ofir Marciano to level the score. Javon East then headed Beersheba back in front, but the hosts could not hold on.

Kozuk was frustrated by the late concession but remained confident in his squad.

“Hapoel Beersheba are Hapoel Beersheba because of their philosophy, and if, in the final minutes, we sit back like cowards, that’s not who we are,” Kozuk said. “The first half was tremendous. We have to do what the coach asks. I attribute this to everyone who was on the pitch, including the coach.

“Against Maccabi Tel Aviv, we’ll need to do what we did for 94 minutes. We’ll have a squad that is good enough in terms of quality for the season in Europe, and we’ll try to keep this squad healthy.”

Maccabi Haifa also secured three points, slipping past Hapoel Petah Tikva 2-1 thanks to a late stunner from Bruninho.

After a goalless first half, Andrija Novakovich headed the Greens into the lead, but Boni Amian equalized for the visitors.

With the game winding down, Bruninho unleashed a powerful strike into the back of the net to give Maccabi Haifa the victory.

Haifa’s Barak Bachar was pleased with the result but knows his team still has work to do.

“The most important thing is to win, and that’s what we did,” Bachar said. “It wasn’t perfect and we have plenty of work to do, but we did what we needed to. We controlled the game and came away with the result.

“We saw a lot of good things from a number of players, but we need to get more players involved. We saw Bruninho, who was great again, and that has to influence the others.”

Niv Gabbay gave Kiryat Shmona the lead after capitalizing on a brutal defensive error by Jerusalem captain Omer Agvadish. Christ Tiehi equalized early in the second half, but Ariel Sheratzky restored Kiryat Shmona’s advantage in the 56th minute.

Just seconds later, Idoko scored his first goal of the afternoon to make it 2-2. From there, Lior Zada’s side took control, with Abdulsalam Sani putting Jerusalem ahead before Idoko completed his brace to seal the victory.

“This game was a roller coaster, a scandal and a festival,” Zada said. “We came back well with a lot of character, and there are things we need to fix. The substitutes came on well, bringing a lot of energy and momentum.

“The quick goal in the second half helped us, and even when we conceded, we quickly came back to make it 2-2. Our attacking play was pretty good, but you can’t say the same about the defense.”

Ironi Tiberias also earned three points, defeating Maccabi Petah Tikva 2-1 despite playing with 10 men for more than an hour.

Nene Gbamble gave Tiberias an early lead, but Bar Cohen was sent off in the 27th minute following a reckless foul.

Maccabi Petah Tikva took advantage of the numerical advantage, with Jose Cortes equalizing for Ziv Arie’s side.

However, Ironi Tiberias refused to fold, and Chris Kouakou set up Ari Cohen, who fired home the winner to complete an impressive victory.

“It’s a weight lifted off our shoulders now that we’ve erased the point deficit that we began the season with,” Tiberias coach Alon Ziv said. “The players put in an incredible display of fighting spirit with 10 men. We played really good football, and there were stages when there was only one team on the pitch.”