Israel round-up: Maccabi Haifa stretch their lead

Israeli Premier League leaders Maccabi Haifa opened a six-point gap at the top of the table as they beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-1 in an ill-tempered match on Sunday.

Frantic first-half
All three goals came in a first half soured by three red cards. Yaniv Katan broke the deadlock with a close-range right-foot volley after just eight minutes but seconds later both sides were reduced to ten men with the dismissals of Pini Balili and Arik Benado for fighting.

Domb dimissal
The hosts' Assi Domb got his marching orders for a professional foul in the penalty area on 17 minutes and Ya'akoubu duly doubled his side's lead from the spot. Despite being reduced to nine men, the home side's players pressed on and were soon back in the contest when Ben Luz scored with a low drive on 23 minutes, but could not find a leveller.

Opportunity missed
Maccabi Tel-Aviv missed the opportunity to take top spot on Saturday after losing 2-1 at Beitar Jerusalem. The defeat ended a run of five straight wins for the Tel-Aviv side as Beitar's yo-yoing form continued to unsettle Israel's top clubs - the Jerusalem side beat Maccabi Haifa 4-0 a fortnight ago.

Fine strike
On Saturday at the Teddy stadium, Andzej Kubika opened the scoring after receiving a Ofer Talkar pass, rounding three defenders and beating Maccabi goalkeeper Liran Strauber with a terrific right-footed shot after 26 minutes. Eli Cohen's side doubled their advantage three minutes after the break as Ra'anan Deri provided the ball from which Kubika took on a defender, rounded Strauber and put the ball into the empty net for Beitar's second.

Red cards
Things went from bad to worse for Maccabi after 67 minutes as Andreas Prochanenkovs was dismissed for a second bookable offence, but his side were able to pull a goal back in his absence. Three minutes from time, Bruno Rais's free-kick took a kind deflection off Beitar defender Jan Telesnikov's head to beat Itzik Kornfein, but even though the unfortunate defender was subsequently dismissed for two bookable offences in the space of a minute, Beitar managed to hold on for a win.

Lightning-quick goal
Elsewhere, an Assi Baldut goal after barely ten seconds helped Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv on their way to a 4-1 win against Hapoel Ironi Rishon. Vladimir Endonov doubled the score with a powerful drive from the edge of the area in the 34th minute, and though Moshe Sabag cut Bnei Yehuda's lead in the 69th minute, Manor Hasan scored twice to complete the scoring before Ironi Rishon's Avi Pittusi was sent off.

Joy for Netanya
Reuven Atar's goal four minutes from time earned Maccabi Netanya a 1-0 victory against Hapoel Petach-Tikva, while Maccabi Petach-Tikva and Hapoel Beer-Sheva shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, with Lior Asulin's 72nd-minute goal cancelling out Rami Abu Laben's long range effort in the 53rd minute for Beer-Sheva.

'A noble man'
Finally, in Friday's game, Hapoel Kfar-Saba moved out of the relegation zone with a 5-0 win at FC Ashdod. A Yaniv Abargil hat-trick and two more goals for Alon Mizrahi led to Ashdod coach Elisha Levi offering his resignation, but club chairman Jacki Ben-Zaken refused it, saying: "Elisha proved today that he is not only a great coach but also a noble man who was willing to take responsibility for the teams' recent poor form."