Hapoel Tel Aviv players go up to warm up before the match against Maccabi Petah Tikva/Kubi Eliyahu
A huge disappointment in Hapoel Tel Aviv tonight (Saturday), after the 4:2 loss to Maccabi Petah Tikva, following which the team could end the cycle below the red line - all this when they only have 12 points left in the pot until the end of the season. Yossi Abouxis counts 9 games on the lines without a win and under him the Reds have gained 5 points from a possible 27. Although the coach has a lot to say at the end that "we will not break" and "we will pick ourselves up", but sounds very, very disappointed, almost broken.
The bad taste of Hapoel Tel Aviv's loss was compounded by an incident in the players' tunnel. Immediately after Maccabi Petah Tikva went up 2:4 in extra time, Oveida Khatab, who previously played for Hapoel Tel Aviv, ran to taunt the Reds' bench in a demonstrative and ugly way. Salim Tuama tried to confront him and received a red card, while Khatab saw a yellow card. After the final whistle, the manager of Hapoel Tel Aviv tried to reach Khatab once more in the players' tunnel, but the team members held him and kept him away from the opponent's player.
"Even last week when we conceded in the 99th minute, there was frustration, no less than today," said Abouxis, "today we paid for every mistake. We made very bad mistakes in conceding. We could have equalized with Omri's miss in a 3:2 situation... very frustrating. We scored Two goals and we would have been worth much more, but at a time like this when nothing goes... we conceded four goals outside the box today which is very rare...".
Aboxis sent off the captain Dan Einbinder already in the 27th minute, after a very weak performance and his direct involvement in the interceptions: "The balls were in our feet, we made very bad mistakes. I saw that less was going to Dan and I wanted to take him out even before that. It's okay, it happens in football that there are days such a".
The coach concluded: "Obviously, these are not easy days for a football coach, so long without a win. You have to know how to accept criticism during these times. As coaches, we have to pick ourselves up and then the players. We are strong and do not lower our heads. Next week against Beitar Jerusalem will be one of our most important games. We may be below the red line at the end of this cycle. It hurts a lot, but we keep our heads up and don't give up."
Omri Altman, who came back from injury, entered tonight as a substitute, scored a pair in the 73rd and 77th minutes, and recorded a big miss in the 79th minute. "It hurts a lot, the situation is not good - not morally and not in terms of the points we are accumulating," he said at the end, "now Maccabi Pat is in a different place. Instead of entangling them with us at the bottom we let her escape. It's hard to chase after a problematic start where we conceded two goals in the first half. I came back after four weeks of good rehabilitation, all the substitutes came in well and there was a positive momentum... I am sure that if I had equalized 3:3 we would have won too"
The striker added: "There is Beitar in Bloomfield next week and everyone understands what this game is and what It's to play it. I didn't believe we'd get to this point, we started the season well... but there's nothing to worry about, we're living in the present, I'm sure if we win next week the air will return."
On Obeid Khattab's teasing: "I don't know, it seems to me that it's something personal that has nothing to do with football. He deals with such things... you won, go celebrate with your fans and your team. It's a shame for him because he's a good player and that's what he deals with."