Hapoel Tel Aviv Beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-2 to Win Toto Cup Final

Maccabi Tel Aviv suffered a painful 3-2 defeat against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Toto Cup final on Thursday, despite a late furious comeback. The yellow-and-blue squad fell behind 3-0 and appeared completely out of the match before Dor Peretz netted a quick brace in the 89th and 91st minutes.

Following the final whistle, the losing players immediately left the pitch in accordance with an agreement between the clubs and the League Directorate stating that only the victors would remain for the medal ceremony.

Head coach Kenny Miller offered a candid assessment after the match: "It is very, very disappointing. We did not do enough for the majority of the minutes, and we did not create chances. When you defend like that, you will not win games and certainly not finals. It is very hard to chase deficits like these."

Brace scorer Dor Peretz added: "I do not know what to say. I am super disappointed. Not just because of the result, but because of our performance tonight. To show up like this in a derby cup final is simply not enough. Winning tackles is the basics, and we did not do it today."