Today’s featured game is the Israeli Ligat Ha’al encounter between Beitar Jerusalem and Ironi Kiryat Shmona.
Israelis are falling over themselves to take advantage of the extremely generous odds on the visitors here, and I don’t blame them. Indeed, I intend to join them. How often do you see a home team priced at 9/10 to win, but the best odds you can get to lay them are at 3/4?! I never see that, and it tells you how much folk are backing the visitors here – and so they should, too. There are few guarantees in the footballing world nowadays, but the likelihood is that Ironi Kiryat Shmona will leave Jerusalem with at least a point tonight.
The tip itself is layered. Part of it stems from Beitar Jerusalem themselves, who are their usual trainwreck selves at the moment. They may not be conceding boatloads, but the goals they are conceding are proving to be killers because they’re not scoring enough. With their choice of forwards though, is it any wonder? Suriname wildcard Viljter is still out. Shua is still suffering from a lack of confidence at being benched by Maccabi Haifa for two years. Vered hasn’t scored a single goal this season. Atar is the only one of them that has any clue, really, and he’s no spring chicken any more. I like Ohana a lot but he’s not what I would class as a forward (drifter between the lines more than anything) and he’s also very inconsistent, which is why he fits in so well here.
I actually think that their defence has done better than anticipated, given the continued absence of key Portuguese defender Verdasca. It’s no joking matter to still have Tal Ben-Haim on their books, who has not been a good defender for quite some years now! Konstantini’s return has helped at both ends, of course, but playing without Verdasca is tough for this team, a bit like Hapoel Be’er Sheva playing without Vitor. The Portuguese players are beginning to rule the roost in Israel, aren’t they?
They still have some tricky absentee issues in midfield too. Einbinder is still out, Zargari is out, Adi is out, and new Brazilian attacker Matheusinho is still out too, yet to even debutise. I won’t deny that Beitar Jerusalem have their complications to overcome, and I certainly can’t deny that there’s a good team in there somewhere. For now though, they look low on confidence, entirely uncertain about their new Emirati owner, and wholly ineffectual in the final third. Their league placing, based upon their displays, is justified, although I would again remind you all that this is still a top six side on their day so don’t let the Ligat Ha’al table fool you. It still takes a good team to beat them, and that’s where Ironi Kiryat Shmona come in.
Although I happily opposed them against streetwise Hapoel Be’er Sheva last time out, and they got humped by league leaders Maccabi Haifa in the preceding game, I still really like where this team is at. They’ve done some marvellous things pre-season, signing players that are far beyond them. It’s certainly not beyond them to do it but I’m always a bit surprised when they manage it because they’re still a tiny team, you know? Israel has some seriously big clubs, and this is not one of them. I was surprised when they won the title back in 2011 though, and I am always open to being surprised by them again, which may prove to be the case this season.
Don’t get me wrong; beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv to the title would be one hell of an achievement, and I do think it’s beyond them. A top six finish should be very much on the cards though, and it’s in games like the one in Jerusalem tonight where they should be able to prove it. Maccabi Tel-Aviv will definitely take one of the places, and it’s highly likely that Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Be’er Sheva will join them. Beitar Jerusalem expect to be involved, and they should be, but I would not bank on it. I would look to Hapoel Haifa, Maccabi Netanya, Ironi Kiryat Shmona, and maybe even Bnei Sakhnin, depending on how things go. Therefore, it’s far from unthinkable that Ironi Kiryat Shmona will be in Europe next season.
But yeah, going back to what I was saying about who they signed – Maranhao! What a great signing, and a proven goal-scorer at this level. Kehat was another brilliant signing for them too. Alright, he still needs to prove that he can rediscover the form that led him to a big move to Austria all those years ago, but the quality is definitely there. Then there’s Ghana’s Ansah, who stood out at Hapoel Ra’anana prior during their relegation season, and poacher Mizrahi, who like Kehat, has to prove he’s still got the talent that led him to Switzerland a few years back. He won’t be playing tonight anyway, but there is a good striker in there somewhere. To cap it all off, they also brought in Gambian midfield controller Touray from Maccabi Haifa, who has done really well since joining.
All of those players join a team that already has a solid enough core with Nachmias in defence, Bartkus between the sticks, Shaker making things happen etc. They’ve got some really capable youngsters coming through too. The balance of this Ironi Kiryat Shmona squad under Refua is really good, and the football they play is very encouraging. They’ve got their limitations, but as far as I am concerned, they’re better than most Ligat Ha’al teams right now, Beitar Jerusalem included. They’re not easily fazed, importantly, and if they can keep that up here, they should get a good result at the Teddy.
The odds make this one worth the risk, that’s for sure. For me, backing Ironi Kiryat Shmona to win with draw no bet at 13/10 is a must.
