TFT Issue 3277!

Maccabi Haifa vs Beitar Jerusalem

KO: 18:45 (UK time)

I am not a big fan of Maccabi Haifa. I find them to be a very lazy, complacent team in general, especially so when you consider that they’ve won nothing worth winning for a long time now. They’ve always had the squad to manage it, but just never seem interested for long enough. They’ll have good spells, like they did at the start of the season, and they’ll have plenty of bad spells where they fail to convert simple opportunities, giving away cheap goals consistently, and believe me when I say that I am praying that they have not just entered the latter or this tip is in trouble tonight!

For my money, Maccabi Haifa have not been that bad recently. Yes, they’re conceding sloppy goals, but what’s new? I mean, the second goal against Hapoel Haifa was just comedy gold, wasn’t it? Nobody marked Serdal properly, he was allowed to swivel in the box (without any realduress), and then beat Glazer at his near post. It was typical Maccabi Haifa really, after what was probably one of their best derby displays in years. They did play well, creating a lot of chances, but didn’t take enough of them. Then they lost at Hapoel Kfar Saba, scoring enough goals, but conceding too many fouls in and around the box, gave away two penalties, and a 2-1 win became a 3-2 loss. No excuses, but they’ve not been as bad as the form guide suggests.

I’m still amazed that Rukavytsya just seems to get better with age, though. The Australian forward has only ever been known for his speed and skill, but he’s not as quick as he once was. It looks like he’s matured really well to me, becoming far more clinical in front of goal, even from the penalty spot. They do have a couple of noteworthy absentees tonight, the home team, with Ashkenazi and Wildschut, both good attacking players, on the sidelines. However, neither of them have played all that much this season, and if there’s one area of the team that Maccabi Haifa can afford to have absentees, it’s attack. Rukavytsya is brilliant, as I said, and now they’ve got Rodriguez back to help Chery out, they’re not at all short of creative options. If Haziza can hit the heights of last season, and Donyoh can improve his decision-making, they’ll have even better options too; the latter is especially good, not that he showcased it much during his brief stint at Dynamo Dresden.

It’s the Maccabi Haifa defence that grates on me the most because it’s just slovenly, to put it bluntly. At no point do I ever feel confident that they’re truly trying to contain teams. Often they’re just relying on chance and poor finishing, which is not ideal. Alright, the Ligat Ha’al is hardly known for its clinical finishers, but give a team enough chances, and they will score goals. I’d like to see them improve on that front but I also know that they never will. Nothing has really changed at Maccabi Haifa in years now, which is why the outcome has also never really changed. Promising, but ultimately doomed to failure – that’s Maccabi Haifa in a nutshell.

Still, for once they’re not the biggest circus in town though, not whilst hosting Beitar Jerusalem. I don’t really know what this club’s motives are but they’re comedy gold, honestly. If there were a show on Netflix about them, I would watch it – and it would go on for quite a few series’! There’s always something insane going on there, whether it was last season’s owner deciding that the team couldn’t train on Sabbath (previously, it was just that the team wouldn’t play during that time), whether it was the curious decision to actually trade with bitter rivals Bnei Sakhnin in the Georginho saga, whether it was actively trying to sign Atzili from Maccabi Tel-Aviv pre-season when he was embroiled in an undersge sex scandal, or now the concept that they’ll be sold to an owner from United Arab Emirates(!). I mean, are they actually trying to lose favour with everybody in Israel? They’re certainly going about it the right way. Christ, the Tel-Aviv clubs won’t even have to bribe referees anymore if things aren’t going their way against Beitar Jerusalem!

The only thing Beitar Jerusalem have done that I like from their past two years’ of action was to appoint Serbia’s Drapic as manager. I like him a lot. He did a sterling job with Maccabi Netanya, both as an attacking and a defensive manager, and proved he can reinvent teams where required along the way. I think that, if given the chance, he could be a very good manager for Beitar Jerusalem. Of course, that won’t actually happen – they never keep managers for long because the club is always collapsing inwardly, and I am frankly surprised that entropy has not finished them off yet. They changed their minds, sack the manager for no reason, and the whole sorry process starts over again. And they wonder why they embarrass themselves in Europe?

On paper, Beitar Jerusalem can name a strong squad; probably stronger than Maccabi Haifa, for what it’s worth, at least for the present – and it’s been a few years since I could convincingly state such. You wouldn’t know it from their displays though. They look disjointed with half of the players clued up tactically, and the other half doing whatever they feel like. When Ohana is the star player of this season, you know something is wrong. Very talented footballer; don’t get me wrong. His attitude and inconsistency have blighted his career though, and if he’s their leading light, then they’re in for yet another season of despair.

For tonight’s game, the away team are not only juggling all of the above, but they’re also missing a ton of players. Constantin, Adi, Zargari, Verdasca, Matheusinho, Viljter, and Einbinder are out here. For clarity, that’s half of their midfield and half of their defence. I still quite like their attack with veteran Atar now mentoring young Shua, and Ohana in fine fettle too. How they’re going to give them the appropriate service with so many players out though, I just don’t know. I also don’t think there’s much chance of them leaving Haifa with a clean sheet tonight, really. I mean, Ben-Haim should have retired by now, and they’re nothing without Verdasca and Konstantini anyway. I will be very surprised if they get a positive result here, all things considered.

Israeli football can be a bit crazy at times, largely because none of them seem to believe in tactics. Often it just descends into chaos with everybody chasing the ball, and the fastest one getting their first, booting it, and then everyone chases again. I really don’t believe we’ll see Maccabi Haifa control this game, much as though they really should be capable of it. However, I do believe that Maccabi Haifa have done more than enough lately to outscore Beitar Jerusalem tonight, and their opponents do not look to be in any kind of position to stop them.

Therefore, I’m on the home win at 4/5.

Verdict: Maccabi Haifa to win at 4/5.