Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv defeated Beitar Jerusalem 3-0 this evening in a rescheduled Winner League Matchday 1 fixture. Owusu scored a debut goal in the Red colors.
Hapoel hosted Beitar Jerusalem this evening (Thursday) at Bloomfield Stadium for a rescheduled Matchday 1 fixture of the league.
In front of the home crowd, the Reds presented absolute dominance throughout the entire duration of the match, defeated their arch-rivals 3-0, and registered their first league victory of the season in the most convincing manner.
The Reds opened the match aggressively, translating their control into a justified opening goal as early as the 17th minute. Stav Toriel crossed an accurate ball into the box, and Roei Alkukin arrived first to head it home from close range, setting Hapoel to a 1-0 lead.
Hapoel continued to dictate the tempo until the break, allowing their opponent virtually no significant opportunities.
At the start of the second half, the visitors were reduced to ten men, and the Reds utilized the numerical advantage to increase pressure in search of a second goal.
In the 67th minute, Douglas Owusu almost found the net when he struck the post from inside the box. However, six minutes later (73'), he celebrated his debut league goal in the Red uniform. Emmanuel Boateng slipped an excellent through ball, and Owusu made no mistake, firing inward to set the score at 2-0.
In the 82nd minute, the Red dominance turned into a resounding defeat [for Beitar] as Shahar Piven passed an accurate cross ball to Daniel Dappa, who shot into the net from inside the box to complete a comprehensive Red 3-0 victory.
After Matchday 2, Hapoel occupies fourth place with 4 points and a 3-0 goal difference.
Hapoel Lineup: Assaf Tzur, Marcus Coco, Fernand Mayembo, Chico, Doron Leidner (Mor Buskila – 65'), Lucas Falcao (El Yam Kancepolsky – 83'), Andrian Kraev, Roei Alkukin (Daniel Dappa – 75'), Stav Toriel (Shahar Piven – 65'), Douglas Owusu (Roy Korine – 75'), Emmanuel Boateng.
Refereed by David Fuxman in front of 22,300 spectators at Bloomfield Stadium.
Hapoel's next match will be this coming Monday (September 7), hosting Hapoel Ramat Gan at Bloomfield Stadium within Matchday 3 of the Winner League. The match will start at 20:00.
Match Log
17': Goal! Hapoel Tel Aviv takes a 1-0 lead: The Reds break into a transition attack; Douglas Owusu delivered a wonderful through ball to Emmanuel Boateng, who passed to Stav Toriel on the right side and he crossed into the box; Roei Alkukin arrived first and headed into the net.
40': Owusu passed to Toriel on the left side, who delivered a first-time cross ball to Emmanuel Boateng, who was completely alone in front of an exposed goal, but he did not connect well with the ball and failed to shoot.
47': Beitar is reduced to ten men after a red card to Luka Gadrani.
53': Following a corner routine, Toriel received a ball outside the box where he was alone and unleashed a first-time strike that marginally missed the target.
66': Owusu received the ball on the right side, executed a nice dribble and unleashed a shot from a difficult angle; his ball met the post and went out.
73': Goal! Hapoel Tel Aviv takes a 2-0 lead: The Reds break into a counter-attack; Boateng delivered a wonderful through ball to Owusu, who raced alone for a one-on-one against Miguel Silva; Hapoel's new player didn't get confused and scored wonderfully his debut goal in the Red colors.
82': Goal! Hapoel Tel Aviv takes a 3-0 lead: Shahar Piven received the ball on the right side and passed a wonderful cross ball to Dappa, who was alone on the edge of the box; the striker shot first-time and overcame Silva on the way to the Reds' celebration.
