Tel Aviv derby Toto Cup final arrives after grind and chaos

Helio Varela finished a slick team move in the first half to give Maccabi Tel Aviv a 1-0 Toto Cup semi-final win over Maccabi Netanya on Sunday, while Daniel Dappa headed home twice in stoppage time for Hapoel Tel Aviv’s 2-1 comeback against 10-man Ironi Kiryat Shmona. The results set a Tel Aviv derby final in Israel’s preseason cup.

Both clubs now face a packed August that mixes domestic silverware chances with European midweeks and squad questions that already surface in the dressing-room talk.

Varela’s finish books Maccabi’s place

At Miriam Stadium in Netanya the yellow-and-blue controlled the opening period. Saied Abu Farchi released Dor Peretz, whose square ball left Varela free to drill past the keeper for the only goal. The Cape Verde winger’s strike was his second in two outings.

Maccabi head coach Kenny Miller had made several changes after a 3-1 Europa League win in Sofia that still left the club needing a Conference League playoff path. Ofek Melika started in goal, Itay Ben Hamo partnered Raz Shlomo, and Peretz captained from a more advanced role. Netanya created early threat through Matheus Davó and later pressed hard, but Melika and the back line held.

• First-half control: Maccabi created the clearer chances and converted one flowing move.
• Second-half pressure: Netanya forced Melika into saves and saw headers and shots fly just wide.
• Squad notes: Issouf Sissokho left with a knock Miller called a precaution; Abu Farchi and Osher Davida were withdrawn on the hour.

The pattern was simple enough. Maccabi built through midfield, found Peretz in space, and finished before Netanya could reset. Once ahead, the visitors accepted a deeper block and trusted Melika to deal with the aerial traffic that followed.

Miller said after the match that the side had been “very good in the first half” and then had to defend under pressure. The official club report on the Helio Varela first-half winner details confirms the goal sequence and the near-capacity crowd that filled both ends.

Netanya’s late surge never quite found a clean finish. Headers flashed wide, shots tested Melika, and the home side left convinced it had belonged in the contest for longer than the scoreline shows. One clinical move decided it.

Dappa’s stoppage-time headers flip Hapoel’s night

In Petah Tikva the other semi produced pure drama. Adrián Ugarriza put Kiryat Shmona ahead in the sixth minute. Ofir Benbenisti collected two yellows and left the northerners with 10 men after 25 minutes. Hapoel still could not break through a stubborn defence that cleared balls off the line.

Coach Elyaniv Barda was himself sent off in the 85th minute. Then Dappa rose for a 97th-minute header and nodded home a Douglas Owusu delivery two minutes later. The Nigerian forward had imagined nights like this when he signed; the fans and club celebrated a result that looked lost for long stretches.

1. 6th minute: Ugarriza scores for Kiryat Shmona.
2. ~25th minute: Benbenisti sent off after a second yellow.
3. 85th minute: Hapoel coach Elyaniv Barda dismissed.
4. 97th and 99th minutes: Dappa headers complete the 2-1 turnaround.

Barda told reporters his side liked the drama and had improved ball movement after the break, only for the ball to refuse the net until deep into added time. Kiryat Shmona coach Shay Barda saluted his players’ early control and pointed to the late excitement that did not come from his own side.

The red card should have tilted the pitch. Instead Kiryat Shmona held shape, cleared off the line, and forced Hapoel to keep inventing. Only when concentration finally frayed in stoppage time did the set-piece deliveries find Dappa unmarked.

Two different red cards bookended the chaos: a player early, a coach late. Hapoel still needed the final minutes of added time to turn possession and pressure into the goals that had refused to come.

A rivalry that still defines Israeli football

The Tel Aviv derby carries decades of history across league, State Cup and occasional Toto Cup meetings. Maccabi holds the overall edge in league wins. The clubs have contested multiple State Cup finals, most recently Maccabi’s 2-1 win in 2021. Toto Cup encounters have been less frequent but still charged.

Both sides share Bloomfield Stadium. Crowd tension has forced abandonments in recent seasons, including a 2025 match stopped before kick-off after unrest. Even a preseason final will draw full houses and heavy security.

Maccabi’s trophy cabinet dwarfs most Israeli sides. Hapoel’s identity remains working-class grit and loyal support that turns up for nights like Dappa’s brace. A previous previous Toto Cup final pairing showed how the competition can still produce high-stakes derbies and capital-city clashes even when the league season has not begun.

Shared turf does not soften the edge. When both sets of supporters fill the same stands on final night, the preseason label matters less than the badge on the shirt. Security plans will match a league derby more than a quiet cup warm-up.

Miller’s squad already feels the squeeze

Maccabi arrived at the Netanya semi four days after the Sofia result and three days before a Conference League playoff trip to Lugano. Miller rotated and still needed a full 90 from Dor Peretz. He told the club site the group had to fight and stand together, especially in the final 20-25 minutes when legs tired.

The coach wants at least two more reinforcements in the transfer window. “We’ve brought in a few players so far, and we need to bring in at least two more,” he said in comments carried on the page covering Miller on fighting through pressure. Sissokho’s knock was downplayed, yet the schedule leaves little recovery time.

• Sofia: 3-1 Europa League win, still no group-stage guarantee.
• Netanya semi: rotation, then a defensive final half-hour.
• Lugano next: Conference League playoff on short rest.
• Window need: at least two further signings, per Miller.

Abu Farchi, 20, has four goals in recent outings and was involved in the winner. Reports link him to MLS side Colorado Rapids. He insisted he remains a Maccabi player focused on the next match. “I’ll continue to give everything for it until my very last moment here,” he said, thanking owner Mitch Goldhar and the fans. The club interview captures his Abu Farchi commitment until last moment and the agent talks already underway.

Miller confirmed the decision sits above him and that Abu Farchi would train and play until any exit. The striker’s availability for Lugano remains on the table for now.

Every selection now carries a cost. Rest Peretz and risk control in midfield; start him again and lean on a captain already asked to cover advanced ground. The same tension hangs over Abu Farchi until the club and any suitor settle the file.

Hapoel finds belief in the chaos

Elyaniv Barda’s side created chances after the red card yet needed the coach’s own dismissal and two late set-piece moments to advance. Dappa called last season one of learning and said experienced teammates and staff help him. “Whenever the team needs me, I’ll be there,” he added.

Kiryat Shmona had topped its Toto group and defended with organisation even after going a man down. The late collapse after the second red highlighted how quickly games can tilt once concentration slips. For Hapoel the win fits a pattern of drama rather than control, the same quality that can punish or reward them against a more polished Maccabi side in the final.

Netanya coach Roni Levy and players such as Amit Cohen left frustrated but pointed to fan atmosphere and the coming league campaign. The Diamond City side had chances and felt they belonged on the pitch for the full 90.

Belief earned in stoppage time is still belief. Dappa’s double gives Barda a reference point when the next tight match arrives and the Reds need someone to attack a delivery. Whether that habit survives against Maccabi’s structure is the open question.

What the final will actually test

The Toto Cup remains a preseason tournament that still awards a trophy and early momentum. Maccabi, fresh from a Super Cup win over Hapoel Beersheva and still chasing European group-stage football, will treat the derby as another measuring stick while managing minutes. Hapoel will treat it as validation that last season’s lessons are turning into results.

Beitar Jerusalem’s path to recent Toto success, including a final win over Hapoel, showed how the competition can elevate underdogs and punish favourites who rotate too far. That Beitar’s recent Toto Cup triumph remains a live reference point for both Tel Aviv clubs as they prepare.

Miller already framed the next European game as difficult but necessary for a big club. Abu Farchi’s situation may resolve before or after the final. Dappa’s confidence and Hapoel’s late habit give the Reds a different kind of threat. The derby itself guarantees intensity that no group-stage match can match.

Both sets of fans will fill Bloomfield or whichever venue hosts the final. The winner lifts the cup. The loser returns to league preparation with clearer evidence of what still needs fixing before the real points begin.

Two semis tell opposite stories

One path ran through control. The other ran through survival. Maccabi led early, absorbed pressure, and protected a clean sheet. Hapoel trailed, lost its coach to a late red, and still found two headers when the clock had almost expired.

Those routes will meet in the same final. Maccabi can point to structure, rotation discipline, and a goalkeeper who closed the door. Hapoel can point to refusal and a striker who stayed ready when earlier chances died on the line.

A polished favourite against a side that thrives on late noise is a familiar derby script. How each coach manages minutes, emotion, and the shared stadium roar will shape which story repeats.

August piles pressure on every selection

The calendar does not pause for a cup final. Maccabi must balance Lugano, the derby, and a transfer window that Miller says still needs at least two names. Hapoel must turn one chaotic night into a platform without the same European midweek load, yet with a squad still rebuilding its league footing.

Abu Farchi’s four recent goals and open MLS link add another layer for the yellow-and-blue. He trains, he plays, and he repeats that he will give everything until the last moment. Miller’s line is clear: the call sits above the coaching staff, and the player remains available until any deal lands.

Sissokho’s precautionary exit in Netanya was a small warning. Short recovery windows turn minor knocks into selection puzzles. Peretz already logged a full ninety in an advanced role; repeating that load through Europe and a derby asks a lot of one captain.

For Hapoel the pressure is different. Dappa’s brace and Barda’s post-match calm suggest a group comfortable living on the edge. Against Maccabi that edge must become a plan, not only a habit of late headers.

For Maccabi the second-order cost of this run is already visible in tired legs, injury precautions and open transfer talk. For Hapoel the gain is belief earned the hard way. The final will measure both in the same ninety minutes.