Nigerian midfielder John Ogu was the hero for his club at the weekend as his thunderous second half strike secured all three points for his Isreali club.
Hapoel Beersheba moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League standings on Saturday night, beating Maccabi Netanya 2-0 at Turner Stadium for its 15th win from the past 17 matches.
John Ogu’s rocket from 20 meters out in the 67th minute after Elyaniv Barda’s opener on the stroke of halftime extended Beersheba’s unbeaten streak to 17 matches, stretching back to late September.
Beersheba wasn’t at its clinical best, but was more than good enough to defeat rock-bottom Netanya and pile the pressure on Maccabi Tel Aviv ahead of Sunday night’s derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv at Bloomfield Stadium.
It was the 27 year old’s second goal of the season.
The Nigerian midfield general was also pleased with the victory and was quick to praise his maker for his performance.
“Thank you great God for the victory, three points, team efforts, my 2nd (goal) of the season. Looking forward for Tuesday's Cup game’, he wrote on his Twitter page.
John Ogu’s manager was delighted with the win while admitting that his boys had not been at their best all evening.
“I’m not looking for us to put on great displays at the moment,” said Beersheba coach Barak Bachar. “Our goal at the moment is to win matches.
Teams from the bottom section of the standings like Netanya try and close down the game and they are very difficult to beat. This is a very important win and it continues our good period.”
Beersheba visits Hapoel Haifa next week looking to set a new club record of six consecutive league victories.
“We have twice previously this season won five straight matches and didn’t manage to claim a sixth so this time we want to do it,” added Bachar.
“We have 14 matches left until the end of the season and every game will be a real battle. There is no room for mistakes and if we do our job things will work out for us.”
