ByAnonymous, Anonymous
JAFFA 2 MODIIN 1
A man-of-the-match performance from goalkeeper Iliyah Kovalov could not save Modi’in from a 2-1 defeat against Jaffa FC.
Jaffa dominated the first half, but were left frustrated by an in-form Kovalov. The Modi’in goalkeeper single-handedly kept his team in the game, pulling off several wonderful saves.
He was finally beaten in the dying moments of the first half; a well-worked Jaffa move found the returning Stephen Caffrey free in the box, and the Irish midfielder made no mistake with his finish.
Modi’in asserted their strength in the middle of the pitch at the start of the second half and began to dominate possession. With momentum on their side, Modi’in found most of their scoring opportunities through long-range shots from Omri Encauou.
In the 73rd minute, Modi’in’s Itai Saidoff capitalised on a mistake by Jaffa’s Benji Gilbert, sprinting from the half-way line before finishing expertly past Gilad Becker.
With both teams looking for the winner, it was Jaffa that got the late goal. A clever through ball by Alberto Elias in the 88th minute caused confusion in the Modi’in box between Kovalov and Ilan Shmueli and left Sam Silverberg with a simple tap-in to get the three points for Jaffa.
"We're on a great roll here," Sam Silverberg beamed after the match.
REAL JERUSALEM 5 AVIV CITY 1
A Menny Duek double inspired Real Jerusalem to a 5-1 win over Aviv City.
Real came into the game a point ahead of their rivals and a strong start was rewarded by a double strike from the impressive striker Duek in the first half.
At the back, defensive pairing Amos Rachmani and Sanchez were on top form and little got past them.
Aviv City were given a lifeline in the second half when a defensive error allowed their forward, Suma to beat goalkeeper Fran Salgado making the score 2-1.
But parity was restored as Real scored a further three goals with Yam, Amos and Mordechai adding their names to the scoresheet.
The game ended at 5-1 in an evening that Aviv will want to quickly forget.
Elsewhere, Raanana and England FC played out a goalless draw 0-0 and Ashdod held pace-setters Bambi in a six-goal thriller.
Team of the week
GK
Daniel Bergman (Raanana)
Defenders
Omer Peleg (Eng)
Sam Sank (Eng)
Tomer Amos (Real)
Clifford Corney (Raanana)
Midfielders:
Stephen Caffrey (Jaffa)
Ido Sacagiu (Bambi)
Gal Kopilevitch (Bambi)
Meni Duwek (Real)
Strikers:
Sam Silverberg (Jaffa)
Shlomi Touboul (Ashdod)
Manager-of-the-week: Fran Salgado (Real)