1954–55 Liga Alef

Liga Alef
Season	1954-55
Champions	Hapoel Petah Tikva; 1st title
Relegated	Beitar Jerusalem ; Hapoel Hadera ; Hapoel Balfouria
Matches played	182
Goals scored	676 (3.71 per match)
Top goalscorer	Nisim Elmaliah (30)
	← 1953–54 1955–56 →

The 1954–55 Liga Alef season was the last in which it was the Israel's top football league, as the following season it was replaced by Liga Leumit^[1] and became the country's second tier. It consisted of 14 clubs, the 12 from the top division in the previous season and two promoted clubs (Hapoel Hadera and Beitar Jerusalem). It used two points for a win and one for a draw.

The title was won by Hapoel Petah Tikva, the club's first championship, whilst Hapoel Hadera and Hapoel Balfouria (who had finished bottom the previous season) were relegated automatically. Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Kfar Saba took part in the promotion/relegation play-offs with the top two clubs from Liga Bet, in which Kfar Saba retained their place in the top division, but Beitar were relegated.

Final table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts
1	Hapoel Petah Tikva	26	18	4	4	68	23	2.957	40	Champions
2	Maccabi Tel Aviv	26	17	4	5	84	28	3.000	38
3	Hapoel Tel Aviv	26	12	9	5	49	23	2.130	33
4	Maccabi Netanya	26	13	7	6	54	43	1.256	33
5	Beitar Tel Aviv	26	12	5	9	64	47	1.362	29
6	Maccabi Haifa	26	11	6	9	54	41	1.317	28
7	Maccabi Petah Tikva	26	10	7	9	37	41	0.902	27
8	Maccabi Rehovot	26	11	4	11	49	48	1.021	26
9	Hapoel Haifa	26	9	6	11	40	55	0.727	24
10	Hapoel Ramat Gan	26	10	3	13	35	41	0.854	23
11	Beitar Jerusalem	26	8	5	13	37	59	0.627	21	Relegation Playoffs
12	Hapoel Kfar Saba	26	6	6	14	38	46	0.826	18	Relegation Playoffs
13	Hapoel Hadera	26	7	2	17	36	53	0.679	16	Relegated to Liga Bet
14	Hapoel Balfouria	26	3	2	21	32	129	0.248	8	Relegated to Liga Bet

Source: 100 Years of Football 1906-2006, Elisha Shohat (Israel), 2006

Results

Home \ Away	BEI	BTA	BLF	HHD	HHA	HKS	HPT	HRG	HTA	MHA	MNE	MPT	MRV	MTA
Beitar Jerusalem	—	3–3	6–1	4–2	3–0	1–0	2–1	0–1	2–2	1–0	1–4	1–1	4–3	1–4
Beitar Tel Aviv	4–0	—	6–1	4–1	4–2	1–1	2–1	3–0	1–1	0–2	2–1	3–0	2–5	1–3
Hapoel Balfouria	4–2	1–8	—	3–1	2–1	4–4	1–5	1–3	0–2	0–6	2–4	0–3	0–1	2–9
Hapoel Hadera	2–0	2–5	5–1	—	0–1	3–1	0–3	2–0	0–1	1–3	0–1	2–0	4–2	1–2
Hapoel Haifa	1–1	1–0	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	3–9	2–0	0–4	4–0	1–1	3–0^[a]	1–1	1–2
Hapoel Kfar Saba	0–1	1–3	6–1	4–1	1–2	—	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	0–1	0–2	2–2	0–0
Hapoel Petah Tikva	2–0	4–0	13–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	—	0–2	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	3–0	2–1
Hapoel Ramat Gan	3–1	1–1	6–0	2–0	2–2	4–3	0–1	—	1–0	0–1	0–3	5–0	0–0	1–4
Hapoel Tel Aviv	1–1	3–0	8–1	2–0	1–0	0–2	0–1	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1
Maccabi Haifa	5–0	1–1	1–1	3–2	4–1	2–1	1–3	1–3	0–3	—	6–2	0–1	4–0	1–3
Maccabi Netanya	3–2	3–1	6–1	0–1	2–2	1–2	0–3^[b]	5–1	3–2	4–4	—	2–2	1–0	2–2
Maccabi Petah Tikva	2–0	4–2	2–1	1–1	3–0	5–4	1–1	1–0	1–4	3–3	0–1	—	0–2	2–1
Maccabi Rehovot	4–0	2–7	6–1	4–2	2–3	4–0	1–3	1–0	1–4	3–2	0–1	1–0	—	2–1
Maccabi Tel Aviv	6–0	3–0^[c]	12–0	1–0	6–0	2–1	2–1	6–0	2–2	1–2	6–1	2–2	2–1	—

Source: 100 Years of Football 1906-2006, Elisha Shohat (Israel), 2006
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.
Notes:

^ The match was abandoned at the 49th minute with Hapoel Haifa leading 2–0 as Maccabi Petah Tikva player Mordechai Lebe was sent off and refused to leave the pitch. The match was given as a walkover to Hapoel Haifa.^[2]
^ The match was abandoned at the 80th minute with Hapoel Petah Tikva leading 1–3 as Maccabi Netanya supporters attacked the referee after he allowed a goal for Hapoel Petah Tikva which was thought to be an offside. The match was given as a walkover to Hapoel Petah Tikva.^[3]
^ The match was abandoned at the 37th minute with Maccabi Tel Aviv leading 2–0 as Beitar Tel Aviv player Ya'akov Gambash was sent off and refused to leave the pitch. The match was given as a walkover to Maccabi Tel Aviv.^[4]

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 17.

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
Team ╲ Round
Hapoel Petah Tikva	3	4	3	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1
Maccabi Tel Aviv	5	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2
Hapoel Tel Aviv	2	1	1	1	2	3	3	3	5	4	4	5	5	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Maccabi Netanya	9	11	13	14	13	13	12	10	10	8	10	8	7	7	7	8	8	7	7	7	7	6	5	4	4	4
Beitar Tel Aviv	1	3	5	4	4	6	5	4	3	3	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	6	7	6	5
Maccabi Haifa	11	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	12	13	9	11	11	10	8	6	7	6	6	6	6	5	4	5	5	6
Maccabi Petah Tikva	11	14	10	6	10	10	7	5	4	5	5	4	3	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	7	7	6	7	7
Maccabi Rehovot	5	7	8	10	9	9	8	9	11	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	11	11	9	9	8	8	8	8	8
Hapoel Haifa	7	6	6	8	7	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	8	9	9	10	9	10	10	10	10	9	11	11	10	9
Hapoel Ramat Gan	14	9	9	11	8	11	11	8	9	11	8	10	12	12	12	11	10	9	9	11	11	10	9	9	9	10
Beitar Jerusalem	7	10	7	9	11	8	10	12	8	10	12	9	10	8	11	12	12	13	13	12	12	11	10	10	11	11
Hapoel Kfar Saba	3	5	4	5	5	4	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	6	8	8	8	8	12	12	12	12	12
Hapoel Hadera	13	8	11	7	6	7	9	11	13	9	11	12	9	11	10	9	11	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Hapoel Balfouria	9	13	14	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

	Champions
	Qualification to relegation play-offs
	Relegation to 1955–56 Liga Bet

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Top goalscorers

Pos	Player	Club	Goals
1	Nisim Elmaliah	Beitar Tel Aviv	30
2	Nahum Stelmach	Hapoel Petah Tikva	27
3	Yehoshua Glazer	Maccabi Tel Aviv	26
4	Simon Elfasi	Beitar Jerusalem	16
	Itzhak Caspi	Maccabi Netanya
	Avraham "Huli" Levi	Beitar Tel Aviv
	Moshe Litvak	Maccabi Rehovot
8	Boaz Kofman	Hapoel Petah Tikva	15
9	Max Cohen	Maccabi Netanya	14
	Zvi Studinski	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	Rehavia Rosenbaum	Hapoel Tel Aviv

^{Source:^[5]}

Promotion-relegation play-off

A promotion-relegation play-off between the 12th and 11th-placed teams in Liga Alef, Hapoel Kfar Saba and Beitar Jerusalem, and the winners of the regional divisions of Liga Bet, Maccabi Jaffa and Hapoel Kiryat Haim. Each team played the other three once.

22 October 1955	Hapoel Kfar Saba	3–1	Beitar Jerusalem	Netanya
	Avrutski 5' Ratz 26' Glazer 33'	Report (p. 8)	7' Elfasi	Stadium: Sar-Tov Stadium Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Reuven Frizner

22 October 1955	Maccabi Jaffa	4–1	Hapoel Kiryat Haim	Petah Tikva
	Aroyo 36' Miranda 78', 84' B. Cohen 79'	Report (p. 8)	34' Handler	Stadium: Maccabi Ground Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Aharon Werner

29 October 1955	Hapoel Kiryat Haim	3–2	Beitar Jerusalem	Petah Tikva
	Handler 14', 40' Havinski 25'	Report (p. 8)	6' Zion 29' Elfasi	Stadium: Hapoel Ground Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Arie Ben-Rubi

29 October 1955	Hapoel Kfar Saba	1–1	Maccabi Jaffa	Haifa
	Glazer 58'	Report (p. 8)	59' B. Cohen	Stadium: Kiryat Eliezer Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Avraham Sher

5 November 1955	Hapoel Kiryat Haim	1–1	Hapoel Kfar Saba	Netanya
	Hayat 47'	Report (p. 8)	78' Morovich	Stadium: Sar-Tov Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Reuven Frizner

5 November 1955	Maccabi Jaffa	3–0	Beitar Jerusalem	Haifa
	B. Cohen 34' Miranda 41' Kalev 53'	Report (p. 8)		Stadium: Kiryat Eliezer Stadium Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Nahman Cohen

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts
1	Maccabi Jaffa	3	2	1	0	8	2	4.000	5	Placed in Liga Leumit
2	Hapoel Kfar Saba	3	1	2	0	5	3	1.667	4	Placed in Liga Leumit
3	Hapoel Kiryat Haim	3	1	1	1	5	7	0.714	3	Placed in Liga Alef
4	Beitar Jerusalem	3	0	0	3	3	9	0.333	0	Placed in Liga Alef

Updated to match(es) played on 15 October 1955. Source: 100 Years of Football 1906-2006, Elisha Shohat (Israel), 2006

References

Israel - List of Final Tables RSSSF
In the Play-offs Davar, 23.10.55, Historical Jewish Press
In the Play-offs Davar, 30.10.55, Historical Jewish Press
Hapoel Kfar Saba and Maccabi Jaffa promoted to Liga Leumit Davar, 6.11.55, Historical Jewish Press

^ League resumes in Saturday Heruth, 2.9.55, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
^ A Surprising Win for Hapoel Haifa in 49 Minutes Hadshot HaSport, 12 June 1955, p. 8 (in Hebrew)
^ The Fight in Netanya was Stopped by a brawl Hadshot HaSport, 27 February 1955, p. 8 (in Hebrew)
^ A Major Outrage in a Shortened Tel Aviv Derby Hadshot HaSport, 5 June 1955, p. 8 (in Hebrew)
^ Nisim Elmaliah – Top Scorer 2 Dear Points, Izhar Brener, Pirsumei Sport, 1955, p. 20 (in Hebrew)

[table_note_1_HHA_MPT0.76300803234941-3] The match was abandoned at the 49th minute with Hapoel Haifa leading 2–0 as Maccabi Petah Tikva player Mordechai Lebe was sent off and refused to leave the pitch. The match was given as a walkover to Hapoel Haifa.^[2]

[table_note_1_MNE_HPT0.76300803234941-5] The match was abandoned at the 80th minute with Hapoel Petah Tikva leading 1–3 as Maccabi Netanya supporters attacked the referee after he allowed a goal for Hapoel Petah Tikva which was thought to be an offside. The match was given as a walkover to Hapoel Petah Tikva.^[3]

[table_note_1_MTA_BTA0.76300803234941-7] The match was abandoned at the 37th minute with Maccabi Tel Aviv leading 2–0 as Beitar Tel Aviv player Ya'akov Gambash was sent off and refused to leave the pitch. The match was given as a walkover to Maccabi Tel Aviv.^[4]

[League_resumes_in_Saturday-1] League resumes in Saturday Heruth, 2.9.55, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)

[2] A Surprising Win for Hapoel Haifa in 49 Minutes Hadshot HaSport, 12 June 1955, p. 8 (in Hebrew)

[4] The Fight in Netanya was Stopped by a brawl Hadshot HaSport, 27 February 1955, p. 8 (in Hebrew)

[6] A Major Outrage in a Shortened Tel Aviv Derby Hadshot HaSport, 5 June 1955, p. 8 (in Hebrew)

[8] Nisim Elmaliah – Top Scorer 2 Dear Points, Izhar Brener, Pirsumei Sport, 1955, p. 20 (in Hebrew)

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