In a weekend match in week 17, on Sat Jan 7th, Hapoel Katamon will host Beitar Jerusalem at Teddi Malcha Stadium in a meeting of these two Ligat ha’Al teams in the anticipated Jerusalem derby. Weather on match day is looking like a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 11 degrees, which is great football weather. Hapoel Katamon sits at 4th place in the tables. In their last match they recorded a 1-1 draw against Ashdod. Jordan Sebban scored the first goal for Ashdod in the 69th minute, then Guy Badash tied it up for Hapoel Katamon in the 3rd minute of the second half’s stoppage time earning Hapoel Katamon at least a draw. Hapoel Katamon is looking for direction having 3 win and 4 losses in their last 10 matches, while beitar Jerusalem is fresh off their 3-2 win against Sektzia Nes Tziona. Yoan Stoyanov struck first for Sektzia Nes Tziona in the 6th minute, but T. Zai got the equalizer for Beitar Jerusalem in the 24th minute Finally they completed the comback victory in the 32nd minute on a goal by Ion Nicolaescu to cap off a wild match. Beitar Jerusalem is looking for direction having 5 win and 4 losses in their last 10 matches.
Hapoel Katamon and Beitar Jerusalem last played eachother at the Teddi Malcha Stadium on the 12th of September. Hapoel Katamon won by a score of 1 to 0. Eloge Yao scored the first goal for Hapoel Katamon in the 10th minute, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, Beitar Jerusalem couldn’t muster any offence and Hapoel Katamon ran away with the shutout win.
Ion Nicolaescu has been on a hot streak lately. In the last 5 games, hes scored six goals for Beitar Jerusalem. Jordan Botaka and Ondřej Bačo are the top scorers for Hapoel Katamon in the last five matches, but unfortunately they only have one goal. It’s hard to imagine having success with those stats.