Soccer / Hapoel TA upends Bnei Yehuda 1-0
By Haaretz Sports Staff
Hapoel Tel Aviv won the State Cup by defeating crosstown rivals
Bnei Yehuda 1-0 on an 87th minute goal by Ilia Yavorian at the National
Stadium in Ramat Gan yesterday.
Hapoel, which will end the season in second place behind Maccabi
Haifa, already had clinched a UEFA Cup spot, and Bnei Yehuda can still
claim its place in the competition by finishing fourth with a draw
against Upper Nazareth.
The losers were lucky to stay in contention until the dying
moments of an untidy encounter, and had Nigerian keeper Vincent Enyeama
to thank for several spectacular saves that kept Hapoel’s Cup hopes on
ice until three minutes from time.
Hapoel’s fans were the majority among a 40,000-strong crowd, and
erupted with joy as Armenian Yavorian slotted home a shot from close
range after a pass from the right by Nigerian Ibazito Ogabuna.
Hapoel’s typically dogged, defensive counter-attacking style
snuffed out Bnei Yehuda’s flair. Hopes of a repeat of the last of its
two cup victories in 1981, when it beat Hapoel on penalties, were
thwarted by the late goal.
The victory was a fitting farewell for Hapoel coach Dror Kashtan,
and he thanked fans at the end of the match as he prepares to take over
as Israeli national team coach.
“You are the best and most loyal fans. You’ve been our 12th player
throughout the season, and you deserve this victory,” Kashtan told
supporters over the public address system. “Now that I have six Cup
trophies and six league titles, I’m ready to take over the national
team,” Israel’s most successful club coach in history added.
Losing coach Nitzan Shirazi, who had been shooting for his first
piece of silverware, said he was bitterly disappointed by the loss, but
that no one was more worthy of the title than Kashtan.
“I would like to congratulate Dror Kashtan, because no one is more
worthy of it than him,” Shirazi said. “Today we received a lesson in how
cruel this game can be. We conceded a goal in the dying minutes when
there was no way back.
“I’m very proud of my players. Now we have to take a point from
Nazareth, because it would be a bitter blow if we missed out on Europe
as well.”
President Moshe Katsav awarded the trophy to Hapoel captain Shimon
Gershon as fireworks were launched outside the stadium.
“Nothing could be sweeter than this after so many years without a
title,” said Gershon, who very likely will be on the move to Betar
Jerusalem after this weekend’s final league game. “It was a tough game,
and we didn’t play our best, but I felt that we would sting in the final
minutes, and that’s exactly what we did. I couldn’t be happier.”
It was Hapoel’s 11th State Cup win since it became inaugural
winner of the trophy in 1928, and its first since the 1999/2000 season