Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. 1–0 Maccabi Haifa F.C. (1986)
| Event | 1985–86 Liga Leumit | ||||||
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| Date | 24 May 1986 | ||||||
| Venue | Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv | ||||||
| Referee | Zvi Sharir | ||||||
On 24 May 1986 Hapoel Tel Aviv faced Maccabi Haifa in a Liga Leumit fixture at Bloomfield Stadium, during the final round of 1985–86 season. The match was the deciding match of the season, with Maccabi Haifa leading by one point ahead of the match. Hapoel Tel Aviv won the match with one goal scored at the 86th minute by striker Gili Landau to win the match and the championship.
At the beginning of the 1985–86 season, 16 clubs competed in the Liga Leumit, then the top division. Maccabi Haifa, which had won the two previous league championships took early charge of the league, leading by five points at the 9th round. However, a poor string of results saw Hapoel Tel Aviv overtake Maccabi Haifa and taking a five points lead at the top at the 19th round. At the 24th round Maccabi Haifa was back on top, with 46 points and a two points lead over Hapoel Tel Aviv, with Maccabi Tel Aviv also in the running, two further points away. After the 29th round, with one match left to play, Maccabi Haifa led the table with 57 points, while Hapoel Tel Aviv was second with 56 points and the two teams were to meet in the last round for a match that would decide the championship.
Maccabi Haifa needed a point to claim its third straight championship (and third overall), while Hapoel Tel Aviv needed to win its tenth championship. Due to the importance of the match, the IBA decided to broadcast the match live, the first ever live broadcast of a league match in Israel.
With 20,000 fans in the stands, Maccabi Haifa sought to stall the match to force a 0-0 draw, which will allow them the championship. The first shot on goal was made by Zahi Armeli of Maccabi Haifa at the 24th minute of the match, while Hapoel registered its first shot at the 32nd minute, through Moris Zano. Early in the second half Hapoel manager David Schweitzer substituted midfielders Jacob Cohen and Elior Baranes with strikers Gili Landau and Eli Yani and Hapoel increased its attacks. At the 86th minute Eli Cohen passed the ball to Moshe Sinai in midfield. Sinai lobbed the ball over the Maccabi Haifa defense towards the rushing Landau, while at the far left side of the defense Eli Yani was running back from an offside position. Referee Zvi Sharir allowed the play to continue and Landau struck the ball over the Maccabi Haifa goalkeeper Avi Ran to break the deadlock. Eli Cohen was sent off for a tackle made on Rafi Osmo, but the score remained the same, Hapoel Tel Aviv winning the championship with one point lead.
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