JERUSALEM (Interstat) — Hapoel Mahane Yehuda overcame a first-half deficit and beat visiting Hapoel Hadera 3-2 on Friday in a five-goal match. Hapoel Mahane Yehuda, the home side, fell behind after Hapoel Hadera scored twice in the opening 29 minutes, then responded with two second-half goals to take the win. Thomas Prince scored the decisive goal in the 70th minute. Hapoel Hadera played the closing moments with 10 men after receiving a red card in second-half stoppage time. The result gave Hapoel Mahane Yehuda three goals total and Hapoel Hadera two goals total. The home side’s three goals came after it had conceded twice in the first half, and the visitors could not add to their total after the 29th minute.

Ido Gueta opened the scoring for Hapoel Mahane Yehuda in the eighth minute. Hapoel Hadera answered in the 16th minute when Idan Golan scored, and the visitors moved ahead in the 29th minute through Refael Zion. Hapoel Hadera took a 2-1 lead into halftime. The first half included three goals and left the home side chasing the match after the break. Gueta’s early goal was the only first-half strike for Hapoel Mahane Yehuda. Hapoel Hadera’s two first-half goals came from Golan and Zion. Hapoel Hadera led at the break after scoring twice in a 13-minute span.

Yair Shpungin pulled Hapoel Mahane Yehuda level in the 55th minute. Prince then scored the winning goal in the 70th minute, completing the comeback for the home side. Hapoel Mahane Yehuda held the lead through the final stages, and Hapoel Hadera’s red card in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time left the visitors with 10 men. The final whistle confirmed a 3-2 result for Hapoel Mahane Yehuda. The match finished with five goals scored by five different players. The second half produced two goals, both for Hapoel Mahane Yehuda. The red card was the only sending-off in the match. Hapoel Hadera could not equalize after Prince’s goal.

Key performances included Golan and Zion for Hapoel Hadera, each with one goal, while Gueta, Shpungin and Prince each scored once for Hapoel Mahane Yehuda. Hapoel Hadera’s competition record is now three wins, one loss and one draw, and its all-competitions record is the same. Hapoel Mahane Yehuda’s competition record is now two wins, three losses and one draw, and its all-competitions record is also the same. The result gave the home side its second win in the competition and the visitor its first loss in the competition. Before the match, Hapoel Hadera had three wins and one draw in the competition, while Hapoel Mahane Yehuda had one win, three losses and one draw.

Hapoel Hadera entered the match after a 1-0 home win over Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Malachi, a 1-0 win at Tzeirei Tira, a 0-0 draw with Maccabi Yavne and a 4-0 win at Nordia Jerusalem. Hapoel Mahane Yehuda entered after a 5-0 loss at Ironi Beit Shemesh, a 4-2 home win over Jerusalem FC, a 0-0 draw with Hapoel Herzliya, a 3-2 home loss to SC Dimona and a 2-0 loss at Hapoel Azor. Those results shaped the teams’ records before the match. Hapoel Hadera had been unbeaten in the competition before the loss, while Hapoel Mahane Yehuda added a second competition victory. Hapoel Hadera’s earlier wins came against Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Malachi, Tzeirei Tira and Nordia Jerusalem.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Hapoel Mahane Yehuda 2, Hapoel Hadera 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Hapoel Mahane Yehuda with a 70.7 percent probability to win. Hapoel Hadera had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 0.5. The total score of 5 went under the over/under line of 2.5.