The 35th round of the Second National Youth League took place almost in full yesterday (Saturday), with the focus of the home game of Hapoel Jerusalem, which faced Hapoel Marmorek knowing that its victory would lead to a historic promotion to the Second Youth League, the first league of the 2007/08 year.
Until five years ago, the club from the capital had only four teams in the youth department that played in the district leagues, when today, in the 2021/22 season, Hapoel Jerusalem has a youth department full of less than 11 teams, playing in the senior leagues and representing Hapoel with great respect in the city. Very soon, say Hapoel Jerusalem, we will also get to see a youth group at the club. The Reds’ promotion to the senior league in the yearbook will probably result in a derby next season between Hapoel Jerusalem and Betar Jerusalem, although we will have to wait with the news.
Since Betar Jerusalem is fighting for its life in the second youth league – on, three rounds to the end of the season, it is still unclear whether Hapoel and Betar will meet for the first time since the 2017/18 youth season in the second youth league. In the same season, Hapoel Jerusalem met Betar Jerusalem 1 (the Betar youth department group that is no longer active). In the first game, Hapoel defeated it 0: 3, while in the second game, Betar won 2: 3 at the end of a great drama.
Yesterday, as mentioned, they defeated Hapoel Marmorek 1: 4 at home (Beit Vagan) thanks to goals from the captain, Nadav Michelson-Cohen, Or Monsengo, Yoav Lavi and Maayan Cohen. To Marmorek, Ariel Tsabari shrank. Thanks to the victory, Hapoel Jerusalem increased the gap from Hapoel Kiryat Ono to 11 points, with only nine points left in the box office and thus managed to do its job this year – to lift the championship plate that will buy it to play next season in the first league of 2007/08.
Sagi IsraelThe team coach after the win: “It’s a huge satisfaction. We’ve come a very long way. In a 34-lap race, the mental aspect plays a big role and I’m glad we met the goals. There’s no doubt this is a very talented team. There were a lot of ‘headaches’ “Quite a few games. But it’s a good privilege for every coach and you always have to know how to manage and adjust it wisely in every game. In the end, I think the depth in the squad gave us a lot of strength in a season like this.”