Israel climbs to top of Group C
Blue-and-white beats Albania 2-0 in Nations League action
Ariel Harush played both ends of the pitch to give Israel a hard earned 2:0 victory against Albania in Nations League action late Sunday night at Turner Toto Stadium in Beersheba.
The blue-and-white shot stopper was in the right place at the right time throughout the contest and also assisted on Tomer Hemed’s first half winner earning him “Man of the Match” honors. Dia Saba scored a late insurance goal to give Israel the three points and first place in Group 1 of League C with six points ahead of Scotland and Albania, who each have three points a piece.
“This was an important win for us; a huge win at home,” head coach Andi Herzog said about the victory. “We are in a good situation, but we have a very tough game against Scotland next month. I’m happy we won both of our home games and the fan support was one of the reasons we won today. Ariel Harush was really good and made big saves plus he assisted on the first goal.”
The star of the show, the aforementioned Harush summed up his performance and the importance of the win, “This was the best match I’ve ever had. I came here at my best for this game and everything went well. But it’s not just me, it’s all of my teammates who battled and credit to the fans as well. Everyone put in 200% to earn this win. I felt that there was no way that the ball was going to get by me today.”
Israel hosted Albania at a sold-out Turner Toto Stadium in Beersheba in the third of four Nations League matches. A win would put Israel in the driver’s seat in the three team group with one contest left at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland in November while a defeat would make life that much more difficult for the blue-and-white after beating Scotland last week in Haifa 2:1.
Herzog made one change to the starting lineup that defeated Scotland, as Tomer Hemed was inserted for an injured Ben Sahar, as the boss played with three central defenders in the back as he had done throughout the campaign. Albania controlled the pace of play early on as Israel conceded a number of free kicks to the visitors, however, Israel was able to quell the storm. In the seventh minute, the host shot stopper Harush made a terrific save on a Bekim Balaj point blank header, but then a minute later, Israel turned the tables.
Harush sent a long pass downfield to QPR striker Hemed, who moved in on goal and slotted the ball home from outside of the box through the legs of an oncoming Albanian keeper Thomas Strakosha, to give the blue-and-white a 1:0 lead. An alert Harush made save after save throughout the half, with the best coming in the 37th minute as Beer Sheva’s first choice keeper made a leaping fingertip save off a Taulant Xhaka volley as Albania continued to threaten.
Herzog introduced defender Shir Tzedek in favor of Eitan Tibi in the 46th minute, in case he decided to switch the defensive formation later on in the half. Israel came out flying as Eli Dasa passed the ball to Dor Peretz on the right wing, who crossed it to Monas Dabbur, but the Red Bull Salzburg striker missed wide right of the goal as the blue-and-white failed to double their lead.
Dia Saba came on for goalscorer Hemed in the 66th minute and had a chance to add to the Israel lead in the 72nd minute, but this time an oncoming Strakosha was able to get to the ball before the striker and cleared it to safety. Dasa fed Dabbur a gorgeous ball in the box, but again the striker came up empty in the 80th minute as Israel searched for an insurance marker.
And a goal they would get in the 83rd minute as the Israel Captain Bibras Natcho sent Saba a perfect pass that the Beer Sheva striker sent into the goal, as it caromed off an Albania defender, handing Israel the 2:0 win and first place in Group 1 of League C.