Maccabi Haifa beat Maccabi Tel Aviv to win Israeli soccer State Cup
Veteran Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun bade farewell to his club Maccabi Haifa with a 1-0 win in the State Cup final over favouites and holders Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
Haifa ended an 18-year wait for the trophy as they defended stoutly against repeated Maccabi Tel Aviv attacks after forward Chen Ezra scored the only goal of the match in the 36th minute.
Tel Aviv crushed Haifa 6-0 in their league fixture at the weekend but Tuesday's final, which brought the 2015-16 season to a close, was a far more even contest.
It was a further disappointment for Tel Aviv, who were league champions for the previous three seasons, but surrendered their crown to Hapoel Beersheba at the weekend. They finished as runners up.
