Maccabi Haifa in the CL Today at 17:00 Israel time they draw for the group stgaes will be made. Maccai Haifa are in the 4th pot with: Rosenburg,Lans,Newcastle,Club Bruge,Auxxere,Genk,Basel.
Re: Maccabi Haifa in the CL tough teams. i hope they do well. keep us posted mate. you're one of the best sources i have for Israeli football.
9/18: Manchester United vs. Maccabi Haifa [R] UEFA Champions League - Matchday 1 - Group F 2:45pm EST Wednesday, 18 September Old Trafford
1-1 29' Maccabi are inviting much of the pressure which is building upon them by failing to find their forward players when the ball is cleared from the back. 28' Giggs steals in for a header from a Beckham free-kick which flies just wide. 28' Solskjaer flashes a header from a David Beckham free-kick just wide of the near post. 26' Giovani Rossi finds space between the United centre-backs to a fire a volley which fortunately for Barthez is straight at him. The understanding between Blanc and Ferdinand clearly still leaves something to be desired. 25' Mikaël Silvestre catches his studs in the turf and hobbles off to the touchline for treatment. 24' United break straight down the other end and very nearly take the lead. Solskjaer is set up again by a cross from Giggs but though he strikes the ball well enough, Awat makes a great save. 22' A misunderstanding between Rio Ferdinand and Laurent Blanc almost presents a goalscoring chance for the goalscorer Katan, but United recover the situation. 21' Zandberg goes down injured after being caught by the boot of Veron. The Maccabi player resumes after a short while. 19' A game which United should be strolling through is becoming a distinctly more serious workout for them than many had expected. 16' Maccabi are competing well all over the field. However, United finally appear to have steadied their nerve and are winning more and more possession. 14' another fine save from Dudu Awat as he beats away a low shot from the edge of the area from van Nistelrooij 12' Duly awoken by Maccabi's sensational start, Ole Gunnar Solskjær goes desperately close to giving United the lead but his shot from an advantageous position just skims the bar. 10' Maccabi needed to hold on to the lead for a decent length of time to make their advantage count in the long run but within four minutes United are level as Philip Neville picks out Ryan Giggs who scored with a glancing header. 10' Giggs(Man. United) 8' Katan(M. Haifa) 7' United are looking distinctly edgy and it really comes as no great surprise when Maccabi take the lead, picking their way through the United defence with consumate ease. Yaniv Katan was left with a clear view of the United goal if from a slightly acute angle as he fires through the legs of Fabien Barthez. 4' Ryan Giggs floats a cross into the area for Ruud van Nistelrooij but the Dutch striker is well marshalled by the Maccabi defence. 3' Maccabi seeing plenty of possession in the early minutes, but as yet have been unable to do anything with it. 1' A cross by Giovani Rossi towards the United area is headed away by John O'Shea. The ball falls to Michael Zandberg but he miskicks and the ball flies wide. 1' Manchester United FC kicked off to get the game under way. Missing from the Maccabi Haifa lineup is 19-year-old striker Yakubu Ayegbeni, who is suspended after being sent off in the second leg of the Champions League qualifier against SK Sturm Graz, having scored two goals in the first leg. Manchester United FC make one change from the side which lost 1-0 to Leeds United AFC in the Premiership last Saturday, with Juan Sebastián Veron, now recovered from a groin injury, replacing Nicky Butt, who damaged his hip at Elland Road. Gary Neville, who has made more appearances than any other player in the Champions League, is involved for the first time this season, having recovered from a broken foot sustained towards the end of last season. Start 1st half Welcome to Old Trafford for tonight's UEFA Champions League Group F tie between Manchester United FC and Maccabi Haifa. Man. United 1 Barthez 3 Philip Neville 4 Veron 5 Blanc 6 Ferdinand 7 Beckham 10 van Nistelrooij 11 Giggs 20 Solskjær 22 O'Shea 27 Silvestre Bench 19 Ricardo López 2 Gary Neville 14 May 15 Chadwick 17 Stewart 21 Forlán 26 Pugh M. Haifa 44 Awat 3 Harazi 4 Benado 5 Badier 6 Keise 11 Rosso 13 Zandberg 19 Ejiofor 20 Katan 26 Almoshnino 28 Pralija Bench 22 Almadon 7 Levy 9 Cohen 16 Zano 18 Israilevich 21 Gabarin 23 Nagar Coach Alexander Chapman FERGUSON Coach Itzhak SHUM Referee ALLAERTS Paul (BEL) Assistant Referee HENNISSEN Rombout (BEL) VANDERHOVEN Danny (BEL) Fourth Referee ANCION Amand (BEL)
M. Haifa Leverkusen 0 - 2 31', 64' Babic First group-match stage - 1 October 2002 20:45 (local time) GSP - Nicosia Babic boosts Leverkusen Tuesday 1 October 2002 Two goals from Marko Babic handed Bayer 04 Leverkusen a crucial 2-0 win in their UEFA Champions League Group F game against Maccabi Haifa at the G.S.P stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus. Morale boost Without a point at kick-off, the 2002 Champions League finalists controlled the vast majority of the game, and only wayward finishing and good goalkeeping prevented them adding more goals. Having begun the season shakily, Leverkusen were unfortunate not to take a point from last week's tie with Manchester United FC, and enjoyed a confidence-boosting 2-1 win over FC Bayern München on Saturday, so it was not surprising that coach Klaus Toppmöller kept faith with the same lineup. Early chances The match began in frenetic fashion, and either side could easily have snatched an early lead. The clearest chance fell to the impressive Maccabi Haifa striker Yakubu Ayegbeni, scorer of all three of his side's goals in last week's 3-0 victory over Olympiakos Piraeus FC. Capitalising on an uncharacteristic error by Carsten Ramelow, Ayegbeni burst forward, but Lucio got across and his deflection took much of the sting out of the shot, which Hans-Jörg Butt was able to get down to and hold at the second attempt. Three good opportunities That early scare aside, a rejuvenated Leverkusen controlled much of the half, keeping the ball and searching for weaknesses in the home side's defence. Striker Oliver Neuville worked tirelessly up front, and had three presentable chances, the best of which he prodded just wide of Dudu Awat's right-hand post. Powerful header On the quarter-hour, Marko Babic produced a teasing cross from the left-wing, which was met by a powerful downward header from Thomas Brdaric, but Awat got down well to palm the ball clear. Leverkusen continued to press, and Yildiray Bastürk saw his powerful shot from an angle well held by Awat. Glancing header However, the away side did take the lead in the 31st minute. Bernd Schneider delivered a perfect cross from a free-kick on the right midway inside the Maccabi half, and Marko Babic deftly glanced the ball past Awat and just inside the far post to put his side in front. Penalty miss For all their control of the game, Leverkusen were fortunate to go into the interval ahead, after Giovani Rosso burst on to Ayegbeni's pass and into the penalty area only to have his heels clipped by Lucio. However, Avishay Zano saw his spot-kick hit Butt's right-hand post, and he then blazed the rebound high over the crossbar from less than two metres. Bizarre second Both sides began the second half in more cautious fashion, aware that the next goal would prove crucial. When it did arrive, four minutes past the hour, it came in the most bizarre fashion. Babic was played into space down the left by Neuville, but looked to have over-hit his cross. However, Awat completely misjudged the flight of the ball, and it drifted over his head and dropped into the corner of the net to all but end the game as a contest.
Their first goal against Man U was beautiful but the second goal is one of the best shots I have ever seen. What a freaking rocket! From 35 yards out, left-footed, into the upper 90. Unreal. Hats off to Haifa. They have shown they belong in Champions League play throughout the Group play.