HAIFA, Israel (Interstat) — Visiting Ashdod delivered a significant upset Saturday, defeating Hapoel Haifa 2-0 in a Liga Bet match at Sammy Ofer Stadium. The result defied pregame projections that heavily favored the hosts.

Ashdod broke a scoreless deadlock late with two goals in a four-minute span. Substitute Roy Gordana opened the scoring in the 79th minute. Fellow substitute Mohamad Amer doubled the lead in the 83rd, assisted by Noam Muche, but was sent off with a red card immediately after his goal. Hapoel Haifa’s Rotem Hatuel also received a red card in the 89th minute.

The victory gives Ashdod a winning start to its league campaign, while Hapoel Haifa begins with a loss. Interstat’s pregame metrics had given Hapoel Haifa an 87.6% probability to win.