The 2018–19 Liga Leumit was the 20th season as second tier since its re-alignment in 1999 and the 77th season of second-tier football in Israel.

Liga Leumit
Season2018–19
ChampionsHapoel Kfar Saba
PromotedHapoel Kfar Saba
Sektzia Ness Ziona
RelegatedHapoel Marmorek
Hapoel Iksal
Matches played288
Goals scored702 (2.44 per match)

A total of sixteen teams contested in the league, including twelve sides from the 2017–18 season, the two promoted teams from 2017–18 Liga Alef and the two relegated teams from 2017–18 Israeli Premier League.

Changes from 2017–18 season

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Team changes

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Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Hadera were promoted to the 2018–19 Israeli Premier League.

Hapoel Ashkelon and Hapoel Acre were relegated after finishing as the two bottom-placed clubs in the 2017–18 Israeli Premier League.

Maccabi Herzliya, and Ironi Nesher were directly relegated to Liga Alef after finishing in the previous season in last two league places. They were replaced the top placed teams from each division of 2017–18 Liga Alef, Sektzia Ness Ziona (from South Division) and Hapoel Iksal (from North Division).

Overview

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Stadia and locations

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Club Home City Stadium Capacity
Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla Tel Aviv and Ramla Ramla Municipal Stadium 2,000
Hapoel Acre Acre Acre Municipal Stadium 5,000
Hapoel Afula Afula Afula Illit Stadium 3,000
Hapoel Ashkelon Ashkelon Sala Stadium 5,250
Hapoel Bnei Lod Lod Lod Municipal Stadium 3,000
Hapoel Iksal Iksal Ilut Stadium[A] 4,932
Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem Jerusalem Teddy Stadium 31,733
Hapoel Kfar Saba Kfar Saba Levita Stadium 5,800
Hapoel Marmorek Rehovot Ramla Municipal Stadium[A] 2,000
Hapoel Nazareth Illit Nazareth Illit Green Stadium 4,000
Hapoel Petah Tikva Petah Tikva HaMoshava Stadium 11,500
Hapoel Ramat Gan Ramat Gan Ramat Gan Stadium 13,370
Hapoel Ramat HaSharon Ramat HaSharon Grundman Stadium 4,300
Hapoel Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion Haberfeld Stadium 6,000
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth Nazareth Ilut Stadium 4,932
Sektzia Ness Ziona Ness Ziona Ness Ziona Stadium 3,500

^A The club is playing their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet league requirements.

Regular season

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Hapoel Nazareth Illit 30 14 12 4 42 25 +17 54 Qualification for the Promotion playoffs
2 Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem 30 13 9 8 40 33 +7 48
3 Sektzia Ness Ziona 30 14 5 11 48 35 +13 47
4 Hapoel Afula 30 12 11 7 38 28 +10 47
5 Hapoel Kfar Saba 30 12 8 10 41 35 +6 44
6 Hapoel Ashkelon 30 11 11 8 34 35 −1 44
7 Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla 30 12 7 11 40 37 +3 43
8 Hapoel Ramat Gan 30 9 12 9 35 35 0 39
9 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 30 10 9 11 33 38 −5 39 Qualification for the Relegation playoffs
10 Hapoel Acre 30 7 14 9 27 31 −4 35
11 Hapoel Petah Tikva 30 12 10 8 39 30 +9 34[a]
12 Hapoel Rishon LeZion 30 8 10 12 34 43 −9 34
13 Hapoel Marmorek 30 9 6 15 29 47 −18 33
14 Hapoel Bnei Lod 30 8 8 14 31 40 −9 32
15 Hapoel Ramat HaSharon 30 7 10 13 32 38 −6 31
16 Hapoel Iksal 30 7 8 15 31 44 −13 29
Source: https://www.scorespro.com/soccer/israel/liga-leumit/standings/
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of wins; 4) goals scored; 5) head to head; 6) deciding match.
Notes:
  1. ^ Hapoel Petah Tikva had twelve points deducted for financial offences and failing to pay players wages between March and June 2018.[1][2]

Results

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Matches 1–30

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Home \ Away TAR HAC HAF HAS HBL HIX HKJ HKS HMR HNI HPT HRG HRS HRL MAN SNZ
Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–3 2–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 1–3 0–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 3–0 2–0
Hapoel Acre 0–0 0–0 0–2 2–0 3–1 0–3 0–1 5–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–2
Hapoel Afula 2–0 1–0 4–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–4 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 4–0 3–1
Hapoel Ashkelon 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 4–2 0–1 2–2 2–4 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–2
Hapoel Bnei Lod 3–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 2–0 0–3 0–1 1–2 0–2 0–2 0–1 5–2 1–2 1–0
Hapoel Iksal 4–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 1–3 1–2 0–1 2–1
Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 3–3 1–3 1–2 0–3 2–2 1–0 0–0 3–0 1–1 3–1 1–0
Hapoel Kfar Saba 3–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 0–1 3–1 0–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 1–5
Hapoel Marmorek 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 4–2 2–2 0–4 1–2 2–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–0
Hapoel Nazareth Illit 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 0–0 4–1 0–0 1–0
Hapoel Petah Tikva 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 1–2 0–1
Hapoel Ramat Gan 1–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–2 0–1 2–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–4
Hapoel Ramat HaSharon 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 3–1 1–2 3–0 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 2–0 1–2
Hapoel Rishon LeZion 1–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 4–1 4–1 1–4 1–0 2–0 0–2 2–2 1–1 1–2 0–2 0–1
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 0–2 1–0 1–1 3–1 3–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 2–2 0–0 3–4 3–1 0–1 2–2
Sektzia Ness Ziona 2–1 6–0 0–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 4–1 0–1
Source: Liga Leumit IFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

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Promotion playoff

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Top Playoff table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Hapoel Kfar Saba (P) 37 18 9 10 53 38 +15 63 Promoted to Israeli Premier League
2 Sektzia Ness Ziona (P) 37 18 8 11 57 38 +19 62
3 Hapoel Nazareth Illit 37 15 16 6 48 32 +16 61
4 Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem 37 15 11 11 44 42 +2 56
5 Hapoel Afula 37 14 13 10 43 36 +7 55
6 Hapoel Ashkelon 37 14 12 11 46 47 −1 54
7 Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla 37 14 8 15 47 44 +3 50
8 Hapoel Ramat Gan 37 9 14 14 38 44 −6 41
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of wins; 4) goals scored; 5) head to head; 6)deciding match.
(P) Promoted

Top Playoff results

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Home \ Away TAR HAF HAS HKJ HKS HNI HRG SNZ
Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla 2–1 1–2
Hapoel Afula 2–1 0–0 2–0
Hapoel Ashkelon 0–3 2–0
Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem 0–0 0–3 1–0 0–1
Hapoel Kfar Saba 1–0 3–1 1–0
Hapoel Nazareth Illit 0–0 2–2 1–2 0–1
Hapoel Ramat Gan 1–3 1–1
Sektzia Ness Ziona 2–0 2–0 0–0 1–1
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation playoff

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Bottom Playoff table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
9 Hapoel Bnei Lod 37 12 11 14 45 48 −3 47
10 Hapoel Petah Tikva 37 15 13 9 50 36 +14 46[a]
11 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 37 12 10 15 43 49 −6 46
12 Hapoel Rishon LeZion 37 11 13 13 40 49 −9 46
13 Hapoel Ramat HaSharon 37 11 12 14 41 42 −1 45
14 Hapoel Acre (O) 37 10 15 12 37 38 −1 45 Qualification for the Relegation Playoffs
15 Hapoel Marmorek (R) 37 10 7 20 35 58 −23 37 Relegated to Liga Alef
16 Hapoel Iksal (R) 37 7 10 20 35 61 −26 31
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of wins; 4) goals scored; 5) head to head; 6)deciding match.
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Hapoel Petah Tikva had twelve points deducted for financial offences and failing to pay players wages between March and June 2018.[3][4]

Bottom Playoff results

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Home \ Away HAC HBL HIX HMR HPT HRS HRL MAN
Hapoel Acre 4–0 2–1 2–0 0–2
Hapoel Bnei Lod 2–2 2–1 4–1
Hapoel Iksal 0–0 2–5 1–3
Hapoel Marmorek 1–2 2–0 1–2
Hapoel Petah Tikva 0–0 3–0 0–0 3–2
Hapoel Ramat HaSharon 2–0 0–0 1–0
Hapoel Rishon LeZion 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 1–0 3–4 1–1 0–1
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round

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Team \ Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37
Sektzia Ness Ziona 3 9 10 7 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 5 5 6 7 5 6 4 5 7 6 5 6 5 3 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 2
Hapoel Kfar Saba 5 2 2 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 2 1
Hapoel Nazareth Illit 5 8 5 6 4 4 3 3 3 5 4 3 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3
Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 4 2 4 2 2 2 4 3 5 5 5 4 4
Hapoel Afula 5 5 3 2 3 3 5 4 4 3 5 5 5 6 7 7 6 7 7 5 6 5 4 2 3 6 6 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 5
Hapoel Ashkelon 1 5 7 5 7 5 4 5 5 4 2 4 3 3 3 4 5 6 5 6 7 4 5 6 5 4 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 6 6
Beitar Tel Aviv 14 10 6 9 11 8 8 7 7 10 6 6 6 7 6 5 4 4 4 7 4 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 7
Hapoel Ramat Gan 9 11 13 13 13 14 15 12 12 12 11 10 8 8 10 13 10 10 8 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Hapoel Bnei Lod 15 15 15 15 14 12 13 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 15 15 15 13 11 12 11 10 9 9
Hapoel Petah Tikva 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 13 14 12 11 10 11 11 10 12 10 12 11 12 10
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 3 4 8 8 8 9 7 10 10 11 13 11 12 13 12 12 13 12 13 13 13 12 12 12 11 11 13 11 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 11
Hapoel Rishon LeZion 9 13 12 11 10 11 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 11 12 8 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 12 12 12 12 15 15 14 12 13 12
Hapoel Ramat HaSharon 5 7 9 10 9 10 11 11 11 7 10 12 10 10 9 9 11 8 10 11 11 11 11 11 12 13 12 13 13 14 15 13 14 13 14 14 13
Hapoel Acre 9 3 4 4 6 7 9 8 8 8 8 8 11 12 11 10 9 9 9 10 9 9 9 9 9 10 9 9 10 10 11 14 11 10 13 11 14
Hapoel Marmorek 9 12 11 12 12 13 12 13 15 15 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 14 14 13 14 10 13 15 15 15 15
Hapoel Iksal 13 14 14 14 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 13 13 11 13 11 12 13 11 12 12 13 13 14 13 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

Source: IFA Source: [1][permanent dead link]

Leader and promotion to 2019–20 Israeli Premier League
Promotion to 2019–20 Israeli Premier League
Qualification to relegation play-offs
Relegation to 2019–20 Liga Alef

Promotion/relegation playoff

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The 14th-placed team, Hapoel Acre, faced 2018–19 Liga Alef promotion play-offs winner Maccabi Herzliya in a two-legged tie. The matches took place on 26 and 29 May 2019.

Hapoel Acre4 – 3Maccabi Herzliya
Yuval Titelman   20'
Elior Seiderre (3)   43', 60', 74'
Shivhon   3'
Assaf Levi (2)   41',   84' (p)
Referee: Ziv Adler

Maccabi Herzliya1 – 3Hapoel Acre
Amir Lavi   30' Naor Abudi (3)   45', 68', 90+4'

Hapoel Acre won 7–4 on aggregate and remained in Liga Leumit. Maccabi Herzliya remained in Liga Alef.

See also

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References

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