Israel round-up: Haifa on the brink

Haifa far from safety 
Avi Knafo's injury-time winner left second-bottom Haifa three points from safety and with an inferior goal difference to the team above them, Beitar Jerusalem. They play Maccabi Tel-Aviv in their final game.

Slumped in desperation 
Haifa had looked set to claim a draw when Shavit Elimelech turned Rami Aziz's cross-shot into his own net on 84 minutes. But Knafo's header left the visitors slumped on the Bloomfield stadium turf in desperation.

Kiriat-Gat go down 
Adding to their agony was Kornel Papura's 90th-minute strike which gave Beitar a 3-3 draw at the bottom club, Maccabi Kiriat-Gat. The result confirmed the home team's demotion after a year in the top flight. Beitar had fought back from two down to draw level through David Amsalem and Victor Pacha, before Miki Atiya restored the Kiriat-Gat lead. Then came Papura's tardy, if timely, intervention.

Behind closed doors 
Elsewhere, champions Maccabi Haifa had to play their home game against Maccabi Petach-Tikva behind closed doors as a punishment for recent crowd trouble at the Kiriat Eliezer Municipality Stadium. Haifa rested several players ahead of the Israeli Cup final, but Reuven Atar's late effort earned them a point in a 1-1 draw.

Not so small Beer 
Hapoel Beer-Sheva moved to within two points of opponents Hapoel Petach-Tikva after winning the mid-table battle at the Petach-Tikva stadium, 1-0. Shuki Nagar got the goal. But fourth-placed FC Ashdod suffered a surprise 3-0 home defeat by Maccabi Netanya, for whom Roslan Lubarski (2) and Liron Vilner were the scorers.