Maccabi Haifa tonight (Saturday) defeated Teddy Hapoel Jerusalem 4: 1 and temporarily climbed to third place in the table.
The victory came by the force of inertia.
It felt like no matter what happened on the grass, the champion would win.
It does not matter if it is the first goal of the newcomer in the Premier League (Guy Hadida, 27) after an early lag (Dolev Haziza, 9).
It's the quality, the fact that Mahmoud Jaber, a key contact who started the season as sixth in the hierarchy, ends an evening with a duo and cooking (42, 85).
It's the fact that even Goodsway Donio came off the bench properly for the first time and he too scored (68) and cooked.
The Maccabi Haifa bench easily leaves Hapoel Jerusalem in the league, maybe even putting it in the top playoffs.
Neta Lavi came off the bench, Muhammad Abu Fani will return very soon and Maccabi Haifa will, perhaps, take a similar form to last season's team.
Green celebration after Donio's amazing goal, Photo: Alan Shiver,
Barak Bachar's team has started a more sane series of games in the league, one that can restore calm to the entire system.
Such a streak set her a championship last year and this season the Greens just want to stay in the title retention picture until the moment they break away from the European framework.
A good word also reaches the audience of Hapoel Jerusalem.
Even after 4: 1, they stood, encouraged, loyal to their sane way.
This is their team, literally, now just need to start accumulating points at a pace that will keep them in the league.
It probably will not be easy.
Photo: Alan Shiver,
Photo: Alan Shiver,
Photo: Alan Shiver,
Photo: Alan Shiver,
