Beitar Jerusalem came from behind to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 at Bloomfield Stadium on Sunday, with Timoti Muzie scoring the winner in the 80th minute.
The match was scoreless at halftime before Dor Peretz gave Maccabi Tel Aviv a 1-0 lead with a header. Beitar responded when Omer Atzili finished after a Yarden Shua through-ball to level the game, and Muzie sealed the victory late on.
The result leaves Beitar Jerusalem two points behind Hapoel Beersheba with two matches remaining in the race for the title. Barak Itzhaki had said before kick-off that his side had started the day five points behind Beersheba because Beersheba had played a day earlier, and he warned there were limits to what his team could control: "All of the teams have so many games one after the other, and we have to do our best to conserve our energy and play the way we are supposed to, which will lead to the results. It wasn’t pleasant to have to come into the game five points behind Hapoel Beersheba because they played a day before, but we all have to have the right mindset. Right now destiny is not in our hands, but we will do the maximum that we can."
The win mattered immediately because Hapoel Beersheba later beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-0, maintaining its edge. Ofir Davidzada and Amir Ganach scored second-half goals for Beersheba, and Hapoel Tel Aviv had been reduced to 10 men after Andrian Kraev was shown a second yellow card in the 30th minute.
Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Miller lamented the result, pointing to his side's missed chances and an upcoming Cup final: "We still have a lot to play for, including a Cup final, so we will be approaching the rest of the games the same way. Not coming away with anything from this game was robbery; we should have won the game and put it away earlier. We will play the same way against Beersheba as we did here, and we played very well. We have given up some goals the past few games, the exact same way, and that needs to be addressed."
Muzie, who finished the move after a pass from Gonzalez on the decisive play, said his team stuck to its plan: "Our character beliefs need desire, we stayed with our game plan and I’m happy that we have been able to comeback yet again. It was a great ball from Gonzalez and I even could have scored beforehand but I made sure to do so the second chance I had. We will do the maximum that we can to keep pace and win the title."
The schedule intensifies immediately. Beitar Jerusalem’s next match is away at Hapoel Petah Tikva on Tuesday evening at Moshava Stadium. Hapoel Beersheba will host Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday night at Turner Stadium. With two matches left, Beitar can only close the gap by winning and hoping Beersheba drops points.
The tense finish in Tel Aviv left both teams with narratives to settle: Beitar kept pressure on the leaders but conceded control, and Maccabi walked away feeling robbed despite dominating stretches. The championship now narrows to two matchdays, and each of the four remaining fixtures will decide whether Beitar Jerusalem can turn late-season momentum into a title.
