This
was definately a night to remember. Maccabi and Hapoel had a tie of 41 wins between the sides and after the game Hapoel made it 42-41, taking the lead for the 1st time in history.

The 3 points Hapoel got today reduced Haifa's lead to 9 points, Hapoel's 2nd place margin over 3rd placed Maccbi in now 5 points.

And now for the game: Hapoel dominated the entire match and Shechter could hit himself after 2 easy chanced in the early 10 minutes of the game. After 17 minutes all hell broke loose and Hapoel hit Maccabi 3 times in 15 minutes with goals by Lala (17), Shechter (21) and Da Silva (30) scoring for the 2nd Derby match in a row with a header.

Youngster Gal Shish who replaced Ben Dayan at the left side lost concentration and gave Maccabi the ball to make it 3-1 after 38 minutes, but Enyeama kept Hapoel in the game as he saved a penalty kick shot poorly by Maor Buzaglo.

The 2nd half was less fertile but as good as the 1st, when Gutman's men dominated and played a smart passing game. In the 65th minute it was Daniel De Ridder who started the goal with a wonderful pass to Vermut, passing the yellow defence and letting Shechter score his 2nd goal (on his 22nd birthday) infront of an open goal.

Maccabi needed some help and got it from the referee, Meir Levi- as he approved a goal while the ball didn't cross the goal line.

In the end Hapoel is taking the lead at Tel Aviv, leaving Maccabi behind.

Photos By: Alain Shieber