After another penalty shootout, Beitar admits: "There is still room for improvement"
The victory in the Toto Cup against Hapoel Ramat Gan was received in the capital with mixed feelings, as the club is interested in strengthening the midfield. Allison Tavares will be released for free to one of the Premier League teams.
Beitar Jerusalem is expected to release Allison Tavares soon to one of the Premier League teams without compensation, as the midfielder is not in the plans of coach Almog Cohen and is effectively hindering the club from signing another foreign midfielder. Tavares had an offer from Romania's Dinamo Bucharest that did not materialize, while in the Premier League, Maccabi Netanya, Hapoel Haifa, Hapoel Jerusalem, and Ironi Tiberias are interested in him. Once his departure is agreed upon, the runners-up will look to add a 6-8 midfielder.
"There is still room for improvement," they said. "But overall we are very satisfied with the squad that has been built. The intention is to add another midfielder who will make a difference."
For the third time this summer, Beitar Jerusalem reached a penalty shootout, in which they defeated AEK Larnaca, lost to Austria Vienna, and last night at the stadium in Rehovot (this time with a secondary lineup) won again, this time against Hapoel Ramat Gan after coming back from a deficit in the 90th minute to a dramatic 3:3. Many senior players sat in the stands, including Yarden Shua, Miguel Silva, Shon Weissman, Yarden Cohen, and Brian Karably, while regular starters like Nana Antwi, Daniel Worku, Noam Mucha, and Johnbosco Kalu started on the bench. Still, the team is concerned about the easy goals conceded against the team promoted from the National League, including a major mistake by backup goalkeeper Yonatan Ozer. Players who received credit like Nevo Shedo, Tomer Yosefi, Timothy Muzie, and Eugene Ansah did not show good ability. In contrast, Liel Deri was a ray of light.
"Unfortunately, we reached penalties again," Cohen said at the end. "It's a good thing there are no penalties in the league. We had a rhythmic game, the team played good football, many players who haven't played much so far got an opportunity and arrived at a high pace. I take many positive things from the game."
Due to the postponement of the match from the opening round against Hapoel Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem will effectively start the league against Maccabi Netanya in the second round.
"Unfortunately, there is a mistake we always make, which we will address and will need to improve. Right now the thinking is to bring something to the middle, but more important than that is to bring a player who will make the difference."
