Beitar Jerusalem celebrated an emotional 4-2 win over Maccabi Netanya at Teddy Stadium in Israel Premier League action, a night that began with a stirring tribute to former hostage Rom Braslavski and ended with a second-half brace from Johnbosco Kalu.
Before kickoff, Braslavski was honored in front of 30,000 fans, delivering a powerful address that brought many in the stadium to tears as he declared “Am Yisrael Chai!” Beitar fed off the atmosphere from the opening whistle, jumping ahead early when Yarden Cohen slammed in a Dor Micha cutback. Netanya pushed back with chances of their own, but Beitar reached halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Aziz Ouattara’s thunderous equalizer brought the visitors level shortly after the break, yet Beitar immediately restored the advantage as Cohen turned provider for Kalu to make it 2-1. Ten minutes later, Ouattara was sent off with a second yellow card, and Beitar soon extended the lead when Denis Kulikov inadvertently headed into his own net. Bassam Zaroura pulled one back for 3-2, but Kalu’s composed finish from the top of the box sealed the victory.
“We knew this wouldn’t be an easy match,” Beitar coach Barak Itzhaki said. “Netanya is dangerous on the counter, and we felt that, but this was an important win and a big three points.”
Netanya coach Yossi Abukasis lamented missed opportunities: “The first half was one of our best this season, we did everything right except finish. After we got it back to 1-1, the fouls and then the red card really killed the match.”
In Ashdod, Maccabi Tel Aviv salvaged a dramatic 2-2 draw amid a turbulent day in which head coach Zarko Lazetic and his staff did not attend the match following severe late-night fan harassment outside his home.
Youth coach Dan Roman stood on the touchline and saw his side fall behind to Jean Florent Batoum’s first-half strike. Substitute Ido Shachar’s brilliant free kick leveled the score, but Ibrahim Diakité’s 90th-minute header looked to have given Ashdod the win as a heavy monsoon drenched the stadium. Deep into added time, however, Sayed Abu Farhi cut in from the left and curled home a dramatic equalizer to split the points.
'We felt we deserved more': Dan Roman
“We’re disappointed – we felt we deserved more,” Roman said. “But I’m proud of the character the players showed to equalize twice.”
Ashdod coach Haim Silvas noted, “Maccabi pushed us very deep in the second half. We knew our best weapons would be set pieces and transitions, and we managed to score from them.”
Lazetic’s expected departure continues to dominate the club’s agenda. Despite ongoing efforts to persuade him to stay – including providing security personnel and arranging for his wife and daughter to fly back to Serbia – the attempts have so far been unsuccessful. Within the club, many are puzzled as to why no formal condemnation was issued following the frightening incidents on Friday involving the team bus and the subsequent confrontation outside Lazetic’s home on Saturday, after which his family immediately requested to leave Israel.
Shaken by the events and reportedly exposed to troubling scenes that have not yet been fully disclosed publicly, Lazetic is said to be in significant emotional distress. Although Maccabi is expected to continue trying to reverse the situation, the Serbian coach’s stance has not changed, and for now, he still intends to leave the club.
Elsewhere, Hapoel Beersheba edged Hapoel Haifa 4-3 in a wild encounter at Sammy Ofer Stadium, led by a Dan Bitton hat-trick that survived a second-half red card.
Eliel Peretz opened the scoring, and Bitton’s penalty sent the visitors into the break up 2-0. Bitton extended the lead to 3-0 before Djibril Diop was sent off, allowing Haifa to claw back through Rotem Hatuel and Javon East. Bitton completed his hat-trick via a Kings Kangwa assist for 4-2, and although Hatuel scored again in stoppage time, Ron Kozuk’s side held on.
“This was one of those matches a coach isn’t thrilled about,” Kozuk noted. “But I’m happy everything came together near the goal.”
Bitton, the night’s star, said: “I’m happy to score and help us win. Without my teammates, none of this would have happened. I don’t really have an explanation for the hat-trick – I just play off instinct.”
Also, Hapoel Tel Aviv defeated Bnei Sakhnin 2-0 at Bloomfield Stadium, with second-half goals from Stav Turiel on a sublime free kick and Loizos Loizou, who netted his first of the season.
“We controlled the first half even without chances; in the second, we created more and deserved the win,” said Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Elyaniv Barda.
Sharon Mimer, his counterpart for Sakhnin, said: “We weren’t good enough with the ball and lost confidence. Credit to Hapoel for the pressure – they left us without answers.”
Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Petah Tikva drew 0-0, with Haifa playing more than a half with 10 men after a red card to Trivante Stewart.
“The result is good under the circumstances,” Greens’ coach Barak Bachar said.
Petah Tikva coach Omer Peretz lamented missed opportunities.
“We had enough chances but didn’t finish.”
Hapoel Jerusalem claimed their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Ironi Kiryat Shmona, thanks to goals from Guy Badash and Cedric Don.
“We’d been waiting a long time for this,” Jerusalem coach Ziv Arie said.
Shay Barda of Kiryat Shmona admitted: “After conceding a foolish goal we lost our way.”
Ironi Tiberias topped Maccabi Bnei Reineh 3-1, as Itamar Shviro scored twice and Yonatan Teper added a late third.
“We created more chances and were more dangerous – this was deserved,” said Tiberias coach Eliran Hodeda.
Reineh coach Adham Hadiya offered a blunt assessment.
“We didn’t deserve anything today. It felt like we weren’t capable of scoring.”