2008–09 Liga Leumit
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Hapoel Haifa |
| Promoted | Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Acre Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Ramat Gan Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Maccabi Ahi Nazareth |
| Relegated | Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata |
| Matches played | 198 |
| Goals scored | 457 (2.31 per match) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
The 2008–09 Liga Leumit season began on 29 August 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009.
Two teams from Liga Artzit were promoted at the end of the previous season: Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata along with two teams relegated from Israeli Premier League: Maccabi Herzliya and Hapoel Kfar Saba.
The two teams relegated to Liga Artzit were Hapoel Nazareth Illit and Hapoel Rishon LeZion.
Due to an expected league expansion,[1] at the end of the season five clubs were automatically promoted to the Israeli Premier League, whilst the sixth-placed club in Liga Leumit played in a play-off match against the 11th-placed team in the Premier League. Only one team relegated automatically, and one team played in a play-off match against a team from Liga Artzit (which ceased to exist, with the regionalised Liga Alef becoming the third tier).
Stadia
[edit]
| Club | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Hapoel Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 21,600 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | 14,002 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Vasermil Stadium | 13,000 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | Herzliya Municipal Stadium | 8,100 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | HaMakhtesh Stadium | 5,500 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | Levita Stadium | 5,800 |
| Hapoel Acre | Napoleon Stadium | 5,0001 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | Ilut Stadium | 4,932 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Karnei Oren Memorial Field | 2,500 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | Lod Municipal Stadium | 2,000 |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Yankela Grundman Stadium | 2,200 |
| Maccabi Kiryat Ata | Kiryat Ata Municipal Stadium | 726 |
1Currently undergoing construction work to convert it to a 5,000-seat stadium. In the meanwhile they play at the Nahariya Municipal Stadium.
League table
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hapoel Haifa (C, P) | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 62[a] | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 2 | Hapoel Acre (P) | 33 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 50 | 23 | +27 | 61 | |
| 3 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva (P) | 33 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 53 | 35 | +18 | 59 | |
| 4 | Hapoel Ramat Gan (P) | 33 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 37 | 31 | +6 | 53 | |
| 5 | Hapoel Ra'anana (P) | 33 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 51 | |
| 6 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth (O, P) | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 45 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 7 | Maccabi Herzliya | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 38 | |
| 8 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | 33 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 36 | |
| 9 | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 37[a] | |
| 10 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 33 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 37 | |
| 11 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon (O) | 33 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 36 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata (R) | 33 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 24 | 53 | −29 | 19 | Relegation to Liga Alef |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd matches won; 4th goals scored; 5th head-to-head; 6th decision match
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ a b Hapoel Haifa received a technical loss of 3-0 to Hapoel Bnei Lod for fielding an ineligible player.
Positions by round
[edit]Results
[edit]The schedule consisted of three rounds. During first two rounds, each team played each other once home and away for a total of 22 matches. The pairings of the third round were then set according to the standings after first two rounds, giving every team a third game against each opponent for a total of 33 games per team.
First and second round
[edit]Third round
[edit]Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 22 games):
| Rounds | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23rd | 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd |
| 3 – 12 4 – 2 5 – 1 6 – 11 7 – 10 8 – 9 |
12 – 9 10 – 8 11 – 7 1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4 |
4 – 12 5 – 3 6 – 2 7 – 1 8 – 11 9 – 10 |
12 – 10 11 – 9 1 – 8 2 – 7 3 – 6 4 – 5 |
5 – 12 6 – 4 7 – 3 8 – 2 9 – 1 10 – 11 |
12 – 11 1 – 10 2 – 9 3 – 8 4 – 7 5 – 6 |
6 – 12 7 – 5 8 – 4 9 – 3 10 – 2 11 – 1 |
1 – 12 2 – 11 3 – 10 4 – 9 5 – 8 6 – 7 |
12 – 7 8 – 6 9 – 5 10 – 4 11 – 3 1 – 2 |
2 – 12 3 – 1 4 – 11 5 – 10 6 – 9 7 – 8 |
12 – 8 9 – 7 10 – 6 11 – 5 1 – 4 2 – 3 |
Promotion/relegation playoff
[edit]Promotion playoff
[edit]Maccabi Ahi Nazareth as the 6th-placed team faced the 11th-placed Israeli Premier League team Hakoah Ramat Gan for a two-legged playoff. Maccabi Ahi Nazareth won both games and were promoted to the Israeli Premier League.
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 2 – 1 | Hakoah Ramat Gan |
|---|---|---|
Ayeli  41'Silvas 48' |
Report | For 42' |
| Hakoah Ramat Gan | 1 – 2 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth |
|---|---|---|
| For 23' |
Report | Jida 46' Ayeli 76' |
Relegation playoff
[edit]Ironi Ramat HaSharon as the 11th-placed team faced the 8th-placed Liga Artzit team Maccabi Kafr Kanna for a two-legged playoff, Ironi Ramat HaSharon won both games and will continue playing in Liga Leumit next season.
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | 2 – 1 | Maccabi Kafr Kanna |
|---|---|---|
| Banahene 73', 85' Shabo  |
Report | Zilka 45' |
| Maccabi Kafr Kanna | 0 – 1 | Ironi Ramat HaSharon |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Banahene 19' |
Season statistics
[edit]Scoring
[edit]- First goal of the season: Eran Levy for Hapoel Haifa against Hapoel Acre, 26th minute (29 August 2008)[2]
- Widest winning margin: 6 goals – Hapoel Acre 7–1 Hapoel Haifa (22 May 2009)[3]
- Most goals in a match: 8 goals – Hapoel Acre 7–1 Hapoel Haifa (22 May 2009)[3]
Discipline
[edit]- First yellow card of the season: Muhamad Brik for Hapoel Acre against Hapoel Haifa, 3rd minute (29 August 2008)[2]
- First red card of the season: Bryan Gerzicich for Hapoel Acre against Hapoel Haifa, 36th minute (29 August 2008)[2]
- Most red cards in a single match: 3 – Hapoel Acre 2–1 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth - 3 for Maccabi Ahi Nazareth (Amjad Suliman, Yakir Shina & Serge Ayeli) (6 December 2008)[4]
Top scorers
[edit]| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ohad Kadousi
|
Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 18 |
| 2 | Eran Levy
|
Hapoel Haifa | 13 |
| Achmad Saba'a
|
Hapoel Bnei Lod | 13 | |
 Serge Ayeli
|
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 13 | |
| 5 | Shay Aharon
|
Hapoel Jerusalem | 12 |
| 6 |  Irakliy Geperidze
|
Hapoel Haifa | 11 |
| 7 | Dovev Gabay
|
Maccabi Herzliya | 10 |
 Emmanuel Banahene
|
Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 10 | |
| 9 | Ronen Shwartzman
|
Hapoel Acre | 8 |
| Dudu Biton
|
Hapoel Ra'anana | 8 | |
| Mor Golan
|
Hapoel Ramat Gan | 8 | |
 Alain Masudi
|
Maccabi Herzliya | 8 | |
| Total | 457 | ||
| Average per game | 2.3 | ||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ June 24th IFA meeting summary Archived 2008-07-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Hebrew)
- ^ a b c "Hapoel Acco 0:4 Hapoel Haifa". The Israel Football Association. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
- ^ a b "Hapoel Acre 7:1 Hapoel Haifa". The Israel Football Association. 22 May 2009. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
- ^ "Hapoel Akko 2-1 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth". The Israel Football Association. 6 December 2008. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ "Liga Leumit Top Scorers". The Israel Football Association. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2008.