An exciting evening at Bloomfield Stadium, a festive atmosphere that we remember from the pre-Corona championship season, of course mainly due to the return of Eran Zehavi to the stadium where he flourished in the ranks of the Maccabees. In addition to all this, there was an optimistic feeling among the yellow players and the man on the lines that it was possible to beat the Dutch rival and go one step further in the European factories.
On the lawn we saw a home team with a super offensive line-up by Krastic, who gambled on an attack from the start of the game, which actually heralded good things for the Yellows. But the effect of enthusiasm faded pretty quickly and after 10 minutes the Dutch, not with impressive ability, managed to take over the center of the field and became the more dominant team that dictated the pace, without actually endangering the hair of Maccabi Tel Aviv, except for one great personal action of Maduka, who passed For all the Yellows defense, but was wonderfully stopped by Daniel Peretz.
The Yellows occasionally tried to launch dangerous passing attacks, but the recent and crucial actions in the 16-yard area of Eindhoven on the part of the hosts’ front side players were not of sufficient quality to produce even one real threat to Drummel’s hair. The first half ended without goals, but with a scent of optimism towards the second half, when the players in yellow internalized that the Dutch demon can be cracked mostly with daring and a little more quality in the front and it will be possible to create a splash.
The second half opened well for the Yellows, who pressed high in the Dutch part of the field and sent all the offensive tools at their disposal, but managed to significantly endanger Eindhoven’s hair once with a Sharan Yeni kick, which gained continuity with the heel of a break towards the crossbar. Towards the 60th minute of the game a surprising event happened, when the Austrian referee, Lechner, chose to stop the game for a few minutes due to a throwing of objects that stopped the yellow momentum.
After returning to the pitch from the break, the Yellows fell asleep along with Krestic on the lines, with the coach excessively late with the substitutions and not responding in time to what was happening on the pitch. A stalemate that cost the Yellows dearly with a goal by Vertsen courtesy of Sborit, who then returned big with a late equalizer that brought Maccabi Tel Aviv back into the game, but it was too little and too late and not enough to make a comeback.
This could have been possible when the Yellows met a non-high-ranking rival from Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv of the good years with Zehavi was certainly skipping the Dutch rival, but the Maccabees should look forward mainly to the Eran Zehavi sector, which today had a weak game, but in the long run it can help the Yellows rise again against the dominance of the Greens from Haifa on the way to building Maccabi Tel Spring re.
The coming months will give Eran time to think about stepping his steps forward towards an exciting return or continuing the dream in another group abroad. Do not worry, the next episode of the telenovela awaits us all in May.
Despite the disappointment from tonight’s result, I think it’s worth concentrating on the half full glass. A stadium full to capacity, an amazing atmosphere in the stands and a successful way for the Yellows in Europe with a significant financial income on the way to the final of the season in the Israeli league, where the Yellows have not yet managed to make a mark and the burden of proof is on them.