Haifa maintain push to retain title

By Ofer Ronen-Abels

Runaway leaders Maccabi Haifa FC extended their advantage to ten points and seem to be cruising towards a fourth Israeli title in five years and ninth in the club's history.

Gulf in class
The reigning champions saw their run of eight straight victories end when they drew 2-2 with bottom-placed Hapoel Petach-Tikva FC, before dropping two more points in a 0-0 stalemate with Beitar Jerusalem FC. Despite those relative setbacks, an explosive first half against second-placed FC Ashdod underlined the gulf in class, with Haifa scoring five times before the break in a 6-0 rout on 11 December.

Impressive record
With a third of the season gone, Haifa are unbeaten in 13 matches backed by a 36-7 goal difference with Roberto Colautti, with eight strikes, the main contributor. Ashdod's defeat by Haifa was their third in succession, allowing Maccabi Petach-Tikva FC and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC to close the gap to two points - but they are still 12 behind Haifa.

Freak accident
Maccabi Tel-Aviv manager Nir Klinger, whose side's UEFA Champions League campaign concluded with a 1-1 home draw with Juventus FC, released Ghanaian defender John Pantsil to city rivals Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC after the player gave an unauthorised interview following the 5-1 Champions League defeat by FC Bayern München. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Liran Strauber, who suffered a freak domestic accident when a glass of hot drink exploded in his hands, lost his place to Nir Gal and could undergo surgery.

Leading scorer
The bottom half of the table remains tight with only six points separating seventh-placed Hapoel Nazareth FC and Hapoel Petach-Tikva. Nazareth's Brazilian striker José Duarte is the Premier League's top scorer with ten goals and is pivotal to his team's current good form. Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin FC ended a run of six winless games with a 4-0 victory at lowly Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC but a goalless draw with Hapoel Haifa FC keeps Eyal Lachman's side close to the relegation zone.

Not safe yet
Shiye Faigenbaum, who replaced Shmulik Hanin to become Hapoel Tel-Aviv's third coach this season, saw the club's sequence of four defeats end with a 1-1 draw against Beitar. But as three of those losses were against fellow strugglers - Hapoel Haifa, Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Hapoel Petach-Tikva - Faigenbaum's men are far from safe.

Under threat
Finally, Hapoel Petach-Tikva's Freddy David could become the next managerial casualty. A 1-0 derby defeat by local rivals Maccabi on Monday increased the calls for his resignation.