After all League A teams were eliminated from the State Cup matches at the end of Round 8, today (Thursday) the 12th round in League A South will begin, with a pair of intriguing games. Hapoel Kfar Shalem will host Shimshon Kfar Kasem at home, in what was until last season a top game but has become a marginal game, and Maccabi Herzliya will meet Maccabi Yavne at home. On Friday, Hapoel Herzliya, the leader of the table, will go to the port city where they will face Maccabi Urban Ashdod. Erez Belfer, will try to achieve a second consecutive victory against Gadi Carmeli’s apprentices. Dimona and Roman Zulu will meet Shaareim and their new coach, Yigal Antebi.
Hapoel Kfar Shalem – Shimshon Kfar Kasem (Tel Aviv Sportek, Thursday at 16:00)
There is no one who does not remember the playoff game from last season, in which Yuval Naim’s Shimshon Kfar Kasem was already leading 0:3, but in the end lost 4:3 in the most painful way. Naim claimed at the time that this was “the most painful moment in his career” for him. Since then, quite a few months have passed and Kfar Shalem continued to strengthen and stabilize, while Kfar Kasem started the season in the worst way it could describe.
Victor Ganish has since joined the club and recently Omer Peretz was loaned from Hapoel Kfar Saba from the National League. If in the past, as mentioned, it was a legitimate top game in the league, today it is a game of extremes. Kfar Shalem is in the top four, while Kfar Kasem, the leader of the table, has yet to see a victory. Will you surprise everyone and yourself in front of a whole village?
Maccabi Herzliya – Maccabi Yavneh (Herzliya, Thursday at 17:00)
Elad Braun and his team want to get back to themselves, after last weekend they parted ways with Shlomi Shlomo’s Jeremiah Holon in a painful 2:2 draw. Herzliya is the only team in the league that hasn’t lost this season, and what’s more, it is considered the most prolific team in the front, having scored 27 goals. Yavne, on the other hand, which is in third place and with a difference of only 4 points from the one that will host it, conceded only 8 goals all season, one of the two lowest and best figures in the league, together with that of Hapoel Herzliya (conceded only 5 goals). Herzliya has enough offensive tools to bring destruction on Yavne. Yavneh hopes, along with Ohad Edelstein and Omer Lekao, to get back to business, after it also parted ways with a draw (1:1) against Maccabi Ashdod City, in what would seem to be one of the more embarrassing results of Yavneh this season.
Maccabi Ashdod City – Hapoel Herzliya (Synthetiko Ashdod, Friday at 13:00)
The team that finally transferred the salaries to the players and returned to training, Ashdod will host the leader of the table, which last week proved that it is worth starting to count it very seriously, after an important 0:1 over Hapoel Kfar Shalem. Erez Benodis hopes to pick up 3 more points on Ashdod’s synthetic pitch, which usually makes it difficult for the opponents and even takes points from them, certainly in front of the Ashdod crowd, who are thirsty to see their team get back to business and quickly.
Although there are quite a few voices talking about a desire for change at the administrative level, they are not satisfied with it to say the least. Ashdod will come to interfere, but victory will be hers, she has embarked on a new path. Herzliya will come to play in its usual way and try to keep the first place for week 12 in the number.
Dimona Sports Club – Maccabi Shaariim (Dimona, Friday at 12:00)
Dimona will meet at home the one who got stronger on the lines, in the form of Yigal Antebi, who signed with the blue club from Rehovot for a year with an option, hoping to achieve good results already in the near future, just before the start of the second round of the league. Last week, Dimona had a little difficulty in the away game against Kfar Qasim, but in the end she scored 1:3 and returned home quite smiling, but feels that the ability is very unsatisfactory.
Dimona is in 6th place in the table and quite close to the top five, and if Roman Zulu’s team resets itself, it is certainly possible to dream of the top playoffs this year. Shaareim will come with all the tools at her disposal, which are not many, and try to play the game that Antebi likes. At least try. Shaareim will hope not to lose points in the match in the southern court.
Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam – Bnei Eilat (Ramla, Friday at 13:00)
After defeating Ironi Modiin 2:3, and achieving their first victory of the season in the league, Erez Belfer’s team will try to add a second consecutive victory against the team that conceded a goal in the 70th minute at home and lost this week (Monday) 0:1 to Hapoel Marmorak. Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam returns to its home (Ramla) after the arm job at the stadium is over, even though I said it’s not worth it and to continue playing in the stadium in Holon that brought them luck in the victory over Modi’in. Eilat needs to wake up from complacency and will need Ilay Elimelech, Daniel Elmelach and Vinay David at their best , this is the only way Eilat will be able to get all the points in the game.
Hapoel Keat Jordan – M.K. Yeremiahu Holon (Pat Moshava Southern, Friday at 12:00)
Both teams come into the match after a draw they achieved last week. The Jordan Valley of Hanan Azoulay recorded a 0:0 against Kassifa from the bottom, while Holon of Shlomi Shlomo achieved a respectable draw against the strong Maccabi Herzliya from the top. In recent times the Jordan Valley has stopped impressing and it seems that something is stopping it from continuing to be the surprising team of the season.
Holon is a quality team and even had a very good opponent for Hapoel Nir Ramat Hasharon from the National League as part of Round 8 of the State Cup. True, Shlomi Shlomo’s apprentices lost 2:0, but there is no doubt that they put on a show and did not embarrass League A. Holon with one loss this season, 8 draws at its disposal. It won’t be easy against her.
Hapoel Marmorak – Ironi Kaseife (Rehovot Stadium, Friday at 1:30 p.m.)
David Marten’s apprentices achieved a 0:1 victory over Bnei Eilat last Monday, despite the players’ strike. He was proud of them, but could not say more than that, following the state of the entire club. The result reflected character and quality. that it is possible to achieve results, even if we do not train together in the face of a situation unrelated to football itself.
Despite the dismal financial situation of the club, Marten’s team is exactly 3 points away from the 5th place. Kasipeh, who dropped to the penultimate place in the table, will hope to survive in this game. It has no real sharp offensive tools, after all, it is also considered to be the team that has scored the fewest goals so far (6). Both teams are in trouble, it will be intriguing to see who will overcome it and get what they want in the match.
Ironi Modi’in – Shimshon Tel Aviv (Modi’in League, Friday at 13:00)
Shai Maor’s team will try to recover from the embarrassing loss to Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam, which until that game had 0 wins. In Samson Tel Aviv, the situation is black or white. The team has not yet drawn a draw this season, with 5 wins, alongside 6 losses.
The host, the newcomer, will be looking to get a second league win this season, while Haim Sirotkin’s men will be looking to add a second consecutive win and escape from the bottom of the table. A loss of intelligence can further complicate it at the bottom.
