# 1953–54 Israel State Cup

The 1953–54 Israel State Cup (Hebrew: גביע המדינה, Gvia HaMedina) was the 17th season of Israel's nationwide football cup competition and the second after the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
The competition started in March 1953, after yet another agreement ending a rift between the Hapoel and Maccabi factions in the IFA, and the first rounds were played as a part of the 1952–53 Israeli football season. The competition continued during the 1953–54 season.
The final was held at the Basa Stadium in Tel Aviv on 3 July 1954. Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Netanya 4–0 and won its seventh cup.

## Results
### First round

10 of the 11 Liga Gimel (3rd tier) clubs which had registered to play in the cup competed in the first round. Matches were due to be held on 21 March 1953. However, only one match, between Beitar Haifa and Hapoel Acre was held, and the rest were played in early April 1953.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Hapoel Acre | 1–0 | Beitar Haifa |
| Hapoel Even Yehuda | 2–1 | Beitar Netanya |
| Hapoel Kiryat Ono | 1–1 | Oichman Jaffa |
| Beitar Jaffa | 6–0 | Beitar Ramla |
| Maccabi Shmuel Tel Aviv | 4–1 | Hapoel el-Amal Lod |
Bye: Kadima Jaffa

### Second round

26 teams from Liga Bet joined the six qualifiers from the first round. Matches were played on 18 April 1953.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Bnei Yehuda | 2–1 | Maccabi Ramat Gan |
| Maccabi Jaffa | 4–3 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Hadera |
| Hapoel Dror Haifa | 0–3 | Ahvat Notzrim Haifa |
| Maccabi Zikhron Ya'akov | w/o | Hapoel Mishmar HaShiv'a |
| Hapoel Acre | w/o | Maccabi Hadera |
| Hapoel Kiryat Ono | w/o | Hapoel Netanya |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 2–1 | Kadima Jaffa |
| Hapoel Even Yehuda | 2–1 | Degel Yehuda Haifa |
| Hapoel Mahane Yehuda | w/o | Maccabi Sha'arayim |
| Maccabi Shmuel Tel Aviv | 1–2 | Hapoel Rehovot |
| Hapoel Nahariya | 5–1 | Hakoah Haifa |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 4–4 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| S.C. Atlit | 2–1 | Hapoel Herzliya |
| Beitar Jaffa | 1–2 | Hapoel Kiryat Haim |
| Maccabi Jerusalem | 5–1 | Maccabi Rishon LeZion |
| Beitar Jerusalem | w/o | Hakoah Tel Aviv |

### Third round

The 12 teams of Liga Alef entered the competition. Matches were held on 2 May 1953. Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Jerusalem required a replay, which was delayed and was finally played on 12 September 1953.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Beitar Tel Aviv | 3–1 | Maccabi Sha'arayim |
| Beitar Jerusalem | 2–1 | Bnei Yehuda |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 6–0 | Hapoel Even Yehuda |
| Maccabi Jaffa | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Rishon LeZion |
| S.C. Atlit | 0–6 | Maccabi Haifa |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 7–2 | Hapoel Rehovot |
| Hapoel Nahariya | 1–3 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| Hapoel Kiryat Haim | 4–2 | Ahvat Notzrim Haifa |
| Maccabi Rehovot | 0–3 | Hapoel Ramat Gan |
| Maccabi Netanya | 1–0 | Hapoel Mishmar HaShiv'a |
| Hapoel Haifa | 11–1 | Hapoel Netanya |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 7–1 | Maccabi Hadera |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | w/o | Hapoel Balfouria |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–3 (a.e.t.) | Maccabi Jerusalem |

#### Replay

| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Maccabi Jerusalem | 0–4 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |

### Fourth round

The final 14 teams met in this round, which matches were played on 14 November 1953, except for the match between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Petah Tikva, which was postponed to 9 January 1954. Both teams requested the postponement as they had major players injured after the Israel's 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification matches at Greece and Yugoslavia.
The match between Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Petah Tikva was abandoned at the 60th minute due to weather conditions and was replayed on 12 December 1953.
Maccabi Tel Aviv were on the brink of elimination, as they were losing 1–2 at Hapoel Kiryat Haim, before scoring a 90th-minute equalizer, and winning the match in extra time.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Beitar Tel Aviv | 0–2 | Maccabi Haifa |
| Hapoel Haifa | 3–1 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion |
| Hapoel Kiryat Haim | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 0–3 Abandoned | Hapoel Petah Tikva |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 2–1 | Maccabi Petah Tikva |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 2–1 | Beitar Jerusalem |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Maccabi Netanya |

#### Replay

| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Petah Tikva |

### Quarter-finals

In early March 1954, Israel played the 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification return home matches against Yugoslavia and Greece, and then went on a two-month tour of South Africa. After the return of the national team, the quarter-final matches were played on 29 May 1954.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Maccabi Netanya | 4–3 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Kfar Saba |
| Maccabi Haifa | 1–2 | Hapoel Haifa |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 0–1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
Bye: Hapoel Petah Tikva

### Semi-finals

Both matches were played on 5 June 1954.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
| Maccabi Netanya | 2–1 | Hapoel Haifa |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 1–2 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |