Maccabi Haifa is not in ideal condition for the game on Saturday (19:30) against MS. Ashdod. Pierre Cornot took off for treatment in France following the hamstring injury and San Menachem was sidelined due to the head injury – which creates quite a headache for Barak Bacher.
If in the past Raz Meir was placed in this position, it seems that the professional team dropped the idea after it presented a disappointing ability. But Sean Goldberg and Rami Gershon did not fill this position successfully either and look much better when they are in the center of the defense.
The one who filled this position successfully in the past is Dolev Haziza, when Becher’s tendency is to place the player in the extreme left position together with three brakes and in such a case he has to give up an attacking player. What adds to the coach’s doubts is the fact that just this week Omar Atzili extended his contract, and in the game against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona came off the bench. It is estimated that the winger will not be suspended for the second game in a row.
In such a case, only one of the three will be in the lineup: Dia Saba, Dean David or Fernandez Piero. The latter was absent from the game against Hapoel Hadera and entered on Saturday only in the 81st minute. In 2023, the striker from Haiti is far from being a regular team player.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) the team will resume its training and Barak Becher will put together the appropriate lineup in his opinion for the game against Ashdod. If there are no surprises, Haziza will start on the left side, and then the team will have to decide about the formation. Maccabi Haifa can be satisfied with the way the 22nd cycle developed. The Greens are the only ones to have won among the top three, with the gap from Po’el Beer Sheva and Maccabi Tel Aviv growing to 4 and 8 points respectively.