HAIFA (Interstat) — H. Beer Sheva produced a commanding away performance against Maccabi Haifa, scoring five goals and leaving Sammy Ofer Stadium with a 5-2 victory. The visitors controlled key stretches after halftime and answered Maccabi Haifa’s late push with enough scoring to secure the result. The first half produced no goals, but H. Beer Sheva broke through after the break and kept the home side under pressure. H. Beer Sheva improved to 5 wins, 0 losses and 1 draw in the competition and to 5 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw across all competitions. Maccabi Haifa dropped to 2 wins and 1 loss in the competition and 2 wins and 1 loss across all competitions.

Igor Zlatanovic led H. Beer Sheva with two goals, opening the scoring in the 50th minute before being substituted in the 67th. T. Diop D. scored in the 54th minute and was booked earlier in the match, while A. Forson added a goal in the 79th minute. Pedro Miguel Santos Amador provided an assist before being substituted in the 78th minute, and H. Kanaan contributed an assist after entering as a substitute in the 19th minute and picked up a yellow card in the 76th. P. Brazao had an assist and a yellow card for Maccabi Haifa, while Adam Grimberg scored twice for the home side.

The match changed after H. Beer Sheva built its lead. Maccabi Haifa’s N. Sztejfman was sent off in the 55th minute, leaving the home side to play with 10 men. Maccabi Haifa still found a response when Adam Grimberg scored in the 77th minute, but H. Beer Sheva restored its cushion through A. Forson two minutes later. Grimberg scored again in second-half stoppage time, finding the net in the 90th minute plus two, but the visitors’ advantage held.

Discipline was a recurring part of the contest. Maccabi Haifa’s E. Azoulay was booked in the fifth minute, and H. Beer Sheva’s T. Diop D. received a yellow card in the eighth. Maccabi Haifa’s P. Brazao and H. Beer Sheva’s Z. Ahmed were both booked in the 45th minute plus four. A. Novakovich of Maccabi Haifa was cautioned in the 51st minute, and N. Ratner was booked in the 75th. H. Kanaan received a yellow card in the 76th. The red card to N. Sztejfman in the 55th minute left Maccabi Haifa short for the remainder of the match.

H. Beer Sheva received scoring contributions from Zlatanovic, Forson and Diop, among others. Zlatanovic’s two goals came in a 67-minute appearance. Diop scored once. For Maccabi Haifa, Grimberg’s two goals came in an 18-minute statline. Brazao recorded an assist. Amador played 78 minutes and supplied an assist. Kanaan’s 19-minute appearance included an assist and a yellow card.

The result continued H. Beer Sheva’s recent run in the competition and handed Maccabi Haifa a second competitive setback of the season. H. Beer Sheva’s previous results included a 2-1 home win against Hapoel Jerusalem and a 2-0 win at Ironi Tiberias, while Maccabi Haifa had entered after a 2-1 win at Maccabi Petah Tikva and a 4-1 win at Hapoel Jerusalem. Maccabi Haifa, meanwhile, had won its two previous matches before the defeat. H. Beer Sheva next faces Mb Petah Tikva, while Maccabi Haifa will look to respond in its next competition fixture.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Maccabi Haifa 2, H. Beer Sheva 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Maccabi Haifa with a 97.3 percent probability to win. Maccabi Haifa had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 7 went under the over/under line of 3.5.