# 2016–17 Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. season

The 2016–17 Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona season was the club's 17th season since its establishment in 2000, and 7th straight season in the Israeli Premier League since promoting from Liga Leumit in 2009–10.
During the 2016–17 campaign the club have competed in the Israeli Premier League, State Cup, Toto Cup.

## Season review

After winning just one match of the first eight matches of the season, manager Motti Ivanir was sacked and was replaced by the coach of the U-21 team, Benny Ben Zaken. Ben Zaken himself was replaced following a disagreement with chairmen Izzy Sheratzky over the inclusion of Ahmed Abed in the line-up, with Sheratzky announcing the sacking of Ben Zaken on live radio during the team's match against Hapoel Ashkelon. Ben Zaken was replaced by Tomer Kashtan.
By the end of the regular season, the team failed to secure its place in the championship playoffs, falling from 6th to 7th in the last match of the regular season. In the relegation playoffs, the team managed to score only four points, though never dropping below 7th place, while allowing some youth players to get their first taste of league football.

## Match results
### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Bnei Sakhnin | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 39 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 6 | Maccabi Haifa | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 38 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 7 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 35 | 33 | +2 | 35 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 8 | Hapoel Haifa | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 29 | 36 | −7 | 28 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 9 | F.C. Ashdod | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 26 | −11 | 28 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 7 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 39 | |
| 8 | Hapoel Haifa | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 37 | |
| 9 | F.C. Ashdod | 33 | 7 | 15 | 11 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 36 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 33 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 22 | 40 | −18 | 36 | |
| 11 | Bnei Yehuda (Q) | 33 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 26 | 39 | −13 | 35 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 12 | Hapoel Ashkelon | 33 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 24 | 42 | −18 | 32 | |
| 13 | Hapoel Kfar Saba (R) | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 23 | 40 | −17 | 31 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |
| 14 | Hapoel Tel Aviv (R) | 33 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 29 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |
* ↑ Bnei Yehuda qualified for the Europa League Second qualifying round by winning the 2016–17 Israel State Cup
* ↑ Hapoel Tel Aviv were deducted nine points for entering administration.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Position |
| 20 August 2016 - 20:00 | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | H | 1–0 | Ahmed Abed | 4 |
| 28 August 2016 - 20:15 | Beitar Jerusalem | A | 2–2 | Tal Genish (o.g.), Didier Brossou | 3 |
| 10 September 2016 - 18:00 | Hapoel Ra'anana | H | 0–0 | | 5 |
| 17 September 2016 - 18:00 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | A | 3–3 | Marko Simić (o.g.), Ezechiel N'Douassel, Shlomi Yosef Azulai | 7 |
| 24 September 2016 - 18:00 | Bnei Sakhnin | H | 2–2 | Shlomi Azulai, Ahmed Abed | 6 |
| 1 October 2016 - 18:00 | Maccabi Haifa | A | 0–0 | | 7 |
| 24 October 2016 - 19:30 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | H | 0–2 | | 7 |
| 30 October 2016 - 19:00 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | A | 1–2 | Heitor | 10 |
| 5 November 2016 - 16:00 | Bnei Yehuda | A | 1–0 | Shlomi Azulai | 6 |
| 20 November 2016 - 20:15 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | H | 1–2 | Ezechiel N'Douassel | 7 |
| 26 November 2016 - 2015 | Hapoel Ashkelon | H | 4–1 | Shlomi Yosef Azulai, Shlomi Azulai, Eden Shamir, Ahmed Abed | 6 |
| 3 December 2016 - 16:00 | Hapoel Haifa | H | 2–0 | Shlomi Yosef Azulai, Ahmed Abed | 6 |
| 10 December 2016 - 18:00 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | A | 2–2 | Mauricio, Ido Davidov | 5 |
| 17 December 2016 - 18:00 | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | A | 0–0 | | 5 |
| 24 December 2016 - 20:30 | Beitar Jerusalem | H | 2–0 | Ahmed Abed, Mauricio | 5 |
| 31 December 2016 - 18:00 | Hapoel Ra'anana | A | 3–0 | Ezechiel N'Douassel, Shlomi Yosef Azulai, Shlomi Azulai | 5 |
| 12 January 2017 - 20:00 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | H | 2–1 | Ofir Kriaf, Ahmed Abed | 4 |
| 16 January 2017 - 18:30 | Bnei Sakhnin | A | 2–5 | Shlomi Azulai, Ahmed Abed | 4 |
| 21 January 2017 - 16:00 | Maccabi Haifa | H | 3–0 | Ofir Kriaf, Shlomi Azulai, Shlomi Yosef Azulai | 4 |
| 28 January 2017 - 18:15 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | A | 0–2 | | 4 |
| 4 February 2017 - 16:00 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | H | 0–1 | | 4 |
| 11 February 2017 - 18:00 | Bnei Yehuda | H | 0–1 | | 6 |
| 18 February 2017 - 20:35 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | A | 0–3 | | 7 |
| 25 February 2017 - 18:00 | Hapoel Ashkelon | A | 1–1 | Shoval Gozlan | 6 |
| 4 March 2017 - 16:00 | Hapoel Haifa | A | 2–1 | Shoval Gozlan (2) | 6 |
| 11 March 2017 - 20:30 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | H | 1–2 | Oded Elkayam | 7 |
| 18 March 2017 - 16:00 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | H | 2–3 | Eden Shamir, Yogev Lerman | 7 |
| 1 April 2017 - 18:00 | Hapoel Haifa | H | 0–2 | | 7 |
| 9 April 2017 - 19:00 | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | A | 1–1 | Shoval Gozlan | 7 |
| 22 April 2017 - 20:15 | Hapoel Ra'anana | H | 2–3 | Shlomi Azulai, Shoval Gozlan | 7 |
| 27 April 2017 - 19:30 | Bnei Yehuda | A | 2–0 | Ahmed Abed, Shoval Gozlan | 7 |
| 6 May 2017 - 19:00 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | H | 1–4 | Shlomi Yosef Azulai | 7 |
| 13 May 2017 - 20:30 | Hapoel Ashkelon | A | 1–2 | Oded Elkayam | 7 |

### State Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers |
| 6 January 2017 - 13:00 | 8th round | Hapoel Hod HaSharon | A | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Mauricio |
| 24 January 2017 - 20:55 | Round of 16 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | A | 2–1 | Mauricio (2) |
| 7 February 2017 - 21:10 | Quarter-final (1st leg) | Beitar Jerusalem | A | 0–2 | |
| 1 March 2017 - 20:00 | Quarter-final (2nd leg) | Beitar Jerusalem | H | 1–0 | Mauricio |

### Toto Cup

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Maccabi Haifa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 10 | Qualified to Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Hapoel Haifa | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 5 | Qualified to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Hapoel Kiryat Shmona | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Qualified to Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Bnei Sakhnin | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 5 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 2 | |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers |
| 30 July 2016 - 20:00 | Group | Maccabi Haifa | H | 0–0 | |
| 2 August 2016 - 20:15 | Group | Bnei Sakhnin | A | 1–1 | Oded Elkayam |
| 6 August 2016 - 20:15 | Group | Hapoel Kfar Saba | H | 0–0 | |
| 9 August 2016 - 19:15 | Group | Hapoel Haifa | A | 1–1 | Mauricio |
| 27 October 2016 - 21:00 | Quarter-final (1st leg) | Maccabi Tel Aviv | A | 2–3 | Ezechiel N'Douassel, Ofir Kriaf |
| 30 November 2016 - 21:00 | Quarter-final (2nd leg) | Maccabi Tel Aviv | A | 1–0 | Ahmed Abed |
| 14 December 2016 - 20:30 | Semi-final | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | N | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Shlomi Yosef Azulai |
| 28 December 2016 - 20:00 | Final | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | N | 1–4 | Ben Turjeman (o.g.) |

## Player details

List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | State Cup | State Cup | Toto Cup | Toto Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ISR | Itamar Nitzan | 39 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 45 | GK | ISR | Mahadi Zuabi | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ISR | Idan Nahmias | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | BRA | Heitor | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ISR | Amir Nassar | 30 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ISR | Oren Biton | 36 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ISR | Oded Elkayam | 29 | 3 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | ISR | Eli Balilti | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | ISR | Bar Hillel | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ISR | Yogev Lerman | 30 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ISR | Dean Maimoni | 34 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 3 | MF | BRA | Kassio | 29 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | ISR | Nizar Abu Ktifan | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ISR | Ahmed Abed | 38 | 9 | 28 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | ISR | Ido Davidov | 16 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ISR | Shlomi Yosef Azulay | 33 | 7 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | ISR | Ofir Kriaf | 38 | 3 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | ISR | Omer Tchalisher | 35 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ISR | Eden Shamir | 36 | 2 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ISR | Josef Ganda | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | BRA | Rafael Jataí | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NGA | Malachy Ilo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ISR | Omer Lakau | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ISR | Eden Dahan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | CIV | Didier Brossou | 37 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | BRA | Mauricio | 36 | 7 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | ISR | Shlomi Azulay | 39 | 7 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | ISR | Anas Mahamid | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ISR | Rotem Hatuel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | ISR | Shoval Gozlan | 15 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | ISR | Ofir Takiar | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | NGA | Jacob Njuko | 13 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | CHA | Ezechiel N'Douassel | 15 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ISR | Itamar Nitzan (loan return from Maccabi Petah Tikva) |
| — | DF | ISR | Yogev Hazuharoui (from Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem) |
| — | DF | ISR | Eli Balilty (loan return from Hapoel Afula) |
| — | DF | ISR | Oren Biton (from Hapoel Haifa, previously loaned to Hapoel Nazareth Illit) |
| — | DF | BRA | Heidor (from Tupi) |
| — | MF | CIV | Didier Brossou (from Hapoel Ramat Gan) |
| — | MF | ISR | Ido Davidov (from Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon) |
| — | MF | ISR | Ofir Kriaf (from Maccabi Haifa) |
| — | MF | ISR | Rafael Jataí (from Tupi) |
| — | MF | ISR | Shlomi Azulay (on loan from Maccabi Tel Aviv) |
| — | FW | BRA | Mauricio (loan return from F.C. Ashdod) |
| — | FW | ISR | Shlomi Azulay (from Bnei Sakhnin) |
| — | FW | ISR | Ofir Takiar (loan return from Hapoel Afula) |
| — | FW | CHA | Ezechiel N'Douassel (from Sfaxien) |
| — | FW | NGA | Jacob Njoku (from Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla) |
| — | FW | ISR | Shoval Gozlan (on loan from Maccabi Haifa) |
| — | FW | ISR | Anas Mahamid (from Hapoel Tel Aviv) |

### Out

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ISR | Guy Haimov (to Hapoel Be'er Sheva) |
| — | GK | ISR | Ofek Antman (on loan to Ironi Nesher) |
| — | DF | ISR | Eran Azrad (on loan to Hapoel Afula) |
| — | DF | ISR | Oz Raly (to Beitar Jerusalem, previously loaned from Bnei Yehuda) |
| — | DF | ISR | Daniel Borchal (to Hapoel Acre) |
| — | MF | LTU | Rokas Stanulevičius (on loan to Hapoel Nazareth Illit) |
| — | MF | ISR | Naor Abudi (on loan to Ironi Nesher) |
| — | MF | ISR | Dan Cohen (to Ironi Beit Dagan) |
| — | MF | ISR | Roei Shukrani (to Hapoel Ra'anana) |
| — | MF | ISR | Or Ostvind (to Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon) |
| — | FW | ISR | Ofir Mizrahi (on loan to FC Lugano) |
| — | FW | BRA | Bruno Cantanhede (on loan to Tondela) |
| — | FW | NGA | Austin Amutu (on loan to Yeni Malatyaspor) |
| — | FW | NGA | Anthony Lukusa (to Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla) |
| — | DF | BRA | Heitor (to Fortaleza) |
| — | DF | ISR | Eli Balilty (on loan to Hapoel Afula) |
| — | MF | BRA | Rafael Jataí (to América Mineiro) |
| — | MF | ISR | Shaked Shemo (to Hapoel Nazareth Illit) |
| — | MF | ISR | Ido Davidov (on loan to F.C. Ashdod) |
| — | FW | CHA | Ezechiel N'Douassel (to Hapoel Tel Aviv) |