Benny Lam spent today (Tuesday) in the morning training of Maccabi Netanya, and as of now it appears that he remains in his position. Lam received full backing this morning from the owner Eyal Segal and the professional manager Almog Cohen, who made it clear that they want him to continue in his position and it seems that the coach will also guide the team in the upcoming game against Maccabi Tel Aviv (Monday, 20:30).
Maccabi Netanya was defeated last night (Monday) 2:0 at home by Hapoel Jerusalem and is now only one point away from the red line. Already yesterday, despite the disappointments, the tendency in Netanya was not to fire the coach, despite the assessment in the club that Lam might actually lay down the keys following last night’s loss.
The coach, who left the lawn when the Netanya fans called for him to resign, was interviewed at the end of the loss and according to his words it could be understood that he did not rule out the option of resigning, but it is possible that the words were said in a storm of emotions and under the influence of the painful loss. Lam said he intends to speak with the professional manager Almog Cohen.
“My son is a very sensitive guy, there are no such people, he is all one big heart,” said an official at the club. “He looked exhausted at the end of the game, you could see on him that he took this loss very hard. My son grew up here, he is part of this city and this club, it hurts him to hear the chants from the crowd. We hope he stays strong and does not break mentally. It is clear to everyone that the situation Very bad, what can be said? The results say everything.”
The team’s fans booed the players as they left the field and expressed their anger outside the stadium as well. During the night, the winds were also stirred on the social networks and quite a few fans even accused some of the players of an alleged Italian strike, during last night’s loss to the Jerusalem Reds.
Netanya, which is in a deep crisis, has not won since the first round and last night it was the seventh game in a row in which the team fails to win. The problems in Netanya are many and it seems that from a professional point of view, many players are not in shape and the team is having trouble scoring goals. The Diamonds have so far scored only seven goals in the eight opening rounds, the lowest balance in the league along with Ness Ziona section that locks the table.
The club is already thinking about changes in the squad for the January transfer window. German midfielder Erich Berkow was again not included in the squad and at least at this point, it seems that his fate has already been decided. Defender Florian Hartherz, who looked bad in the last few games also due to an injury he is suffering from in the Achilles area, lost his place in the lineup and did not even come in as a substitute and he may also pay the price of the team’s failure in January. In Netanya they also expressed their disappointment with the ability of Aden Kartsev, Michael Ohana and Liran Rotman who started in the lineup and looked very bad. Another player who showed poor ability last night, is midfielder Boris Eno who came on as a substitute in the second half and was not felt at all on the field.
And in Maccabi Netanya, this evening the team was punished by the court of the football association for hosting a game without an audience following the lighting of flares by the fans. Since this is Maccabi Netanya’s third conviction this season for crowd misconduct, the judge, attorney Giora Landau, decided to apply the suspended sentence against the club, and therefore the match against Maccabi Bnei Rayna will be held behind closed doors.
The next cycle in the Premier League
Hapoel Jerusalem – Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Hapoel Haifa – Nes Ziona section
tax. Ashdod – Beitar Jerusalem
Urban Kiryat Shmona – Maccabi Haifa
Bnei Rayna – Bnei Sakhnin
Hapoel Hadera – Hapoel Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv – Maccabi Netanya