NETANYA, Israel (Interstat) — Beitar Jerusalem opened its Ligat ha’Al campaign with a 2-1 victory over Ironi Kir Shmona at Winner Stadium on Sunday.

The match turned in a frantic three-minute span late in the second half. Omer Atzily broke a scoreless deadlock for Beitar in the 69th minute, only for Ironi Kir Shmona’s Adrián Ugarriza to equalize in the 72nd. Beitar secured the winner shortly after, though the specific scorer was not detailed in the available match data.

The contest was marred by discipline issues, featuring eight yellow cards. Ironi Kir Shmona played a man down after Aviv Avraham received a red card in the 62nd minute. The result defied a pregame projection from Interstat, which had forecast a draw despite heavily favoring Beitar Jerusalem to win.