The madness in Netanya around the return to the European factories reached its peak in a great game, with Gil Yitzhak’s advantage already in the second minute. The local team equalized nine minutes to go, but did not stop the celebrations of about 1,000 fans who accompanied the team to Istanbul. Everything is open for reciprocity
Maccabi Netanya fans
If you had told Benny Lem to come out disappointed from a foreign point against a Turkish rival in a European factory he would probably have thought you were crazy. But the wonderful reality dictated by the Netanya coach surpasses all imagination. Maccabi Netanya returned to Europe after more than a decade and was better last night (Thursday) over Istanbul in the Turkish Shakshair. The yellow team can certainly boast of a 1-1 draw in Turkey, but they too know that a sensational victory was within reach.
The madness in and out of the city around the game knew no bounds. About 1,000 fans flew with the group to Turkey, painted Istanbul yellow and celebrated with songs, drums, flags and smoke grenades. Also in the amphitheater near Independence Square, where the game was broadcast on a huge screen, the celebration was big with about 700 people who made a lot of people happy, with many left outside due to lack of space.
65 seconds from the start the enthusiasm overflowed and the yellow volcano erupted, when a great operation by Patrick Twamasi, during which he overcame two players, ended with an accurate elevation to the head of Gil Yitzhak, who hit a corner well and lit the yellow stand in Istanbul, 0: 1.
Netanya pressed high and was better, and Boris could not double the advantage at the start of the second half, but stuck a ball to the crossbar. On the other hand, goalkeeper Itamar Nitzan recorded two wonderful saves and did a good job. But his mistake with a bad shot for a local raise led to the equalizer in the 81st minute. Even defender Florian Hartrez, in a bad position, could not save, and Polish substitute Patrick having a hard-pressed corner kick, 1: 1 at the end. Netanya suffered a blow in extra time with the dismissal of a second yellow by Flamin Glaubov, who will miss the rematch next Thursday in Netanya.
Big compliments go to Bnei Lem’s fighting group, who arrive imbued with motivation and faith that it is possible to complete the task in front of a stadium that has been blown up and move on to the next stage of the Conference League.
Bnei Lem said after the game: “I said at the press conference that we will come and refer only to Maccabi Netanya. We opened the game excellently and put pressure, we did not give them the opportunity to move from behind. Today it is only the first half. Today you saw the Netanya crowd, The house is going to be a full stadium. “
He added that “we came with the aim of surprising the rival team because it is Maccabi Netanya, we took the initiative and made it a goal. The further the game went, the harder it was for us. “For the next game as well. At home it is a completely different story. In this game in Shakshahir she managed to push us back, but in the next game we are going to press and give everything – in Shakshahir they will feel the atmosphere with us.”