Beitar Jerusalem climbs to the summit as three-way title race reaches fever pitch

Itzhaki’s Jerusalem team has already found itself in first place this campaign when it spent time at the top of the table during the winter months for a bit of time until Beersheba moved ahead once again.

BEITAR JERUSALEM (in yellow) and Hapoel Beersheba are in a tight title race, separated by just two points after their 2-2 draw over the weekend. (credit: Liat Avshalomi/Israel Sport)

But this time it was much different than just a few months prior.

Pressure mounts as championships approach

As the fixtures continue to tick off of the calendar one by one, the pressure mounts, the tension fills the air, and as each day goes by, it becomes a day closer to the end of the season and a chance to take home the elusive title, one that Beitar has not won since the 2007/08 season, when it won the second of back-to-back championships.

Jerusalem, now in front of Beersheba by one point – 64-63 – also now has a better goal differential – +37 compared to + 35 – as the month of April is about to come to an end.

However, there is one thing that Itzhaki needs to take a good hard look at coming up this Saturday night and that’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team that helped Beitar move into first place. The yellow-and-blue is now only six points out of first place after having languished for months on end in double digits behind the table leaders.

Six points, and Beitar and Maccabi still need to play each other twice. Dangerous times for Itzhaki and his charges.

Would a goalless draw between Maccabi and Beersheba have been a better result for Beitar? Perhaps to some extent yes, but perhaps no. The Maccabi win puts it into the thick of the race, but it also gives Jerusalem a lead over Beersheba, a team that it has not yet beaten the entire season. A goalless draw would have kept Maccabi eight points away from first and Jerusalem only a share of first place with Beersheba, which would have still favored Beitar due to the better goal differential.

The Maccabi win though gave Tel Aviv life and a lot of it. Still, the yellow-and-blue will not have a few thousand fans travelling to the capital on Saturday night to cheer their side on because of an Israel Football Association penalty. But knowing that a win would move Maccabi to within just three points from the top of the table is tantalizing enough, no doubt.

Beersheba will also have its chance to rebound over the weekend when it faces Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The bottom line is that the closer the teams get to the top of the table, the more pressure-packed and intense the playoff we will be getting, and that’s the case now with three teams vying for the league championship.

If Beitar takes the win over Maccabi, then all bets are off for Deila’s squad to capture the title. It will be a very difficult and windy road to go as Tel Aviv would fall to nine points back with six matches to go. But that win over Beersheba breathed plenty of life back into the Maccabi sails, when it had almost already been down and out.

On paper, Beitar is the better team and more complete squad than Maccabi, but the last time the two met, they played to that dreaded goalless draw at Teddy Stadium. The opening match between the two ended in the capital city side thrashing the yellow-and-blue 6-2. One would be stunned if revenge isn’t on Maccabi’s mind.

There has rarely been a week that, when asked if Maccabi can be counted out of the race, Itzhaki would say that one can never eulogize the yellow-and-blue no matter what the situation is. There is a spirit of Maccabi, as many have said, and that power seems to keep the yellow-and-blue relevant and in the race and in the hunt to retain its title
And you can never count out the heart of the champion.

Beitar needs to be very aware of this simple but all-time serious fact, because on Saturday night Itzhaki and his squad have the chance to pretty much end Maccabi’s hopes. There’s no question that Jerusalem will be trying to do just that.

With a full squad at his disposal, Itzhaki will have red-carded Boris Enow back in the midfield, Brayan Carabali will be back on the back line after being out due to yellow card accumulation, while captain Yarden Shua will also be back in the saddle after getting most of the Petah Tikva game off because of leg muscle issues.

Right now, it’s Beitar’s championship to win as it is in first and has every chance to knock Maccabi off its pedestal. But plenty of questions remain, mostly about whether Beitar’s inexperience in title races will be a factor playing against it.

Saturday night will tell us a lot of how the final stretch run will play out as the final month of the season is upon us.

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