A last-gasp strike from Rotem Elkalay saw Jaffa finish 2014 on a high with victory in a seven-goal thriller against Atletico.
January 5, 2015 12:47SPORTS DIRECT OLIM LEAGUE
JAFFA 4 ATHLETICO 3
A last-gasp strike from Rotem Elkalay saw Jaffa finish 2014 on a high with victory in a seven-goal thriller against Atletico.
With only one point separating Jaffa and Athletico going into the game, this was always going to be a close contest between two title contenders.
The first half was fairly even, both sides missed chances until Majit Zaid scored the first for Athletico just before the break.
But Jaffa's half-time was full of hair-dryers and it seemed to pay off. Daniel Berkeley hit a left-footed strike from outside the box on the 50th minute to make it 1-1.
Athletico quickly replied with a smashing 30-yard effort from Yonatan Journo, but the lead was quickly cancelled out as Nir Hacohen buried a penalty to make it 2-2.
Jaffa started to control the game but they were hit on the counter, with Yonatan Journo capitalising on a rare defensive error to put Jerusalem in front.
The hosts responded immediately with a wonderful team goal following six one-touch passing move that resulted in a fabulous finish from Ziv Ram.
The last 10 minutes were tense, Athletico were doing everything to hang on and Jaffa didn't want to lose points at home. There was a moment of controversy late on when after a rough tackle and bad reaction saw a player from each team sent offf.
There was one final twist however as the oranges of Jaffa did what they have done twice already this season- grab a last-minute winner via classy rookie Rotem Elkalay as Jaffa extended their unbeaten run to four matches.