Unfancied Kiryat Shmona secure Israeli title
Reuters - Monday 02 April 2012, 20:41
Hapoel Kiryat Shmona won their first
Israeli league title on Monday after a 0-0 home draw with Hapoel
Tel Aviv gave them an unassailable lead over their nearest
challengers with five matches remaining.
The victory gave Kiryat Shmona 67 points from 32 matches and
opened a 16-point gap over Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv,
both on 51 points with only 15 points left to play for.
Consistency has been the key for Kiryat Shmona, who have
lost only three matches and conceded 16 goals in 32 outings
while Hapoel and Maccabi Haifa, traditionally the dominant
Israel teams in the last three decades, repeatedly failed to
find form.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to congratulate the
team and told coach Ran Ben Shimon and club owner Izzy
Sheratzky: "You have proven today that you are capable of doing
anything you want, this is a celebration for all the people of
Israel."
Kiryat Shmona were founded by local industrialist Sheratzky
in 2000 when he merged two smaller clubs. They were promoted to
the top flight in 2007 and first won silverware, the secondary
Toto Cup, last season and retained it in January.
"I don't ever remember a team winning the championship with
a 16-point lead, it is unbelievable," Sheratzky told the
jubilant home crowd after the players lifted him on their
shoulders as they celebrated on the pitch.
"There are some fantastic people here, not only as players
and I am convinced that this is not a one-off victory."
Monday's victory was a bitter-sweet moment for Ben Shimon,
who already knew he would not be staying on next season after
failing to agree a contract extension. Sheratzky has named Gil
Landau as coach for next term.
Kiryat Shmona, the country's northern-most urban centre with
a population of 23,000, is the smallest town with a team in the
Premier League and will be one of the smallest to compete in the
Champions League preliminary rounds next season.
It is situated close to Israel's border with Lebanon and for
decades was the target of rockets and cross-border raids mainly
by Palestinian militants based in Lebanon.
Many of the town's residents briefly fled during Israel's
2006 offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas, who
launched thousands of rockets on northern Israel, but the area
has largely remained calm since the war.