Israel round-up: Tel-Aviv go top

A 4-0 win in Saturday’s round 11 game at Maccabi Petach-Tikva has put Maccabi Tel-Aviv at the top of the Ligat ha-Al in Israel.

First-half lead
Tel-Aviv stormed into a 3-0 first-half lead at Petach-Tikva with goals from Elli Biton (25), Rodrigo Goldberg (26) and Avi Nimni (45), and Nimni added a fourth goal on 67 minutes to complete the misery for the home side. Tel-Aviv are level on points with second-placed Hapoel Tel-Aviv but a superior goal difference has put them above their local rivals.

Early setback
Elsewhere, Beitar Jerusalem recovered from conceding the first goal of the game to secure a 3-1 victory against Maccabi Netanya. Izik Zohar put the visitors ahead two minutes into the second half, but Beitar rallied and after Dmitri Mikhailenko’s equaliser, Manor Hasan and Victor Pacha steered them to victory at the Teddy Stadium.

Goalless draw
In Saturday’s other Israeli Premier League game, Maccabi Kiriat-Gat failed to ease their relegation worries with a 0-0 draw against mid-table Hapoel Haifa. Having played 12 games, Kiriat-Gat are two points adrift at the bottom of the table with eight points and only two wins all season.