Soccer / Premier League / Beitar still has a point to make
By Moshe Boker and Ali Ghali
Beitar Jerusalem, still in a jubilant mood after its penalty shoot-out victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the State Cup final on Tuesday, can complete a banner week tomorrow if it beats Maccabi Netanya and seals the Premier League title.
A run of poor form has meant that the title celebrations have been delayed again and again. Three defeats in a row and without a league victory in almost two months, Beitar is counting itself lucky to have done enough earlier in the season to ensure a second consecutive championship.
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The Beitar training sessions yesterday were conducted in high spirits.
Derek Boateng - one of two Beitar players to miss his penalty kick on Tuesday - ran around yelling "I'm the king of penalty shots!"
"Even when I missed the kick, I was only pretending to be worried," he explained. I knew we would win because "I believe strongly in God and I knew He was on our side. It's wonderful to win and now we have to beat Netanya, to win the championship and to keep up our joy and that of our fans."
Tempting fate
In one of those tempting fate moments that professionals in the sports industry should avoid at all costs, Beitar has told fans that should the team take the championship in the match against Netanya - or versus Herzliya in a game postponed from earlier in the season - official celebrations would take place at Gan Saker next Thursday.
Beitar needs just a point from tomorrow's game - but it will have to do so without the services of Amit Ben-Shushan, who was injured in Tuesday's final. Idan Tal is expected to return to training this morning and is likely to be fit for the game.
Meanwhile, Beitar is planning to send a delegation to visit the widow of Yosef Levi, the Jerusalem fan who died of heart failure during the penalty shoot-out on Tuesday.
Even before it has wrapped up the league title, however, Beitar is looking ahead to next season. In the past few days, Beitar officials have decided not to pursue one of the main targets for next season, forward Blaise Kufo of Dutch club Twente. The Congolese-born Swiss player has scored 21 goals this season, but his asking price of $3 million - plus an annual salary of $1.5 million - was too rich for even Beitar's deep pockets.
Looking for victory No. 7
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv looks to continue its remarkable revival, meanwhile, when it takes on Kfar Sava at Bloomfield tomorrow.
Having won only three games all season, the team from Tel Aviv's run-down Hatikvah Quarter has now recorded six consecutive victories and has got its head above water in the struggle to avoid relegation.
A victory over Kfar Sava would surely guarantee another season of Premier League soccer for Bnei Yehuda, while putting the free-falling Kfar Sava in the danger zone.
With the exception of goalkeeper Nir Abarbanel, Bnei Yehuda has a full complement of players. Kfar Sava welcomes back Ben Luz, who was been absent through injury for over two months and returns straight into the first team.
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