# 2012–13 Liga Leumit

The 2012–13 Liga Leumit was the fourteen season since its introduction in 1999 and the 71st season of second-tier football in Israel. It began on 24 August 2012 and ended on 20 May 2013.
A total of sixteen teams contested in the league, including twelve sides from the 2011–12 season, one promoted team from the 2011–12 Liga Alef and three relegated teams from the 2011–12 Israeli Premier League.

## Changes from 2011–12 season
### Structural changes

There were five structural changes:
* The middle playoff was cancelled, with only top and bottom playoff to be contested by eight teams each, according to their regular season placement. with each team plays 37 matches.
* The points were no longer halved after the regular season.
* Two teams will be promoted to the 2013–14 Israeli Premier League, and two relegated teams from Israeli Premier League.
* Two teams were directly relegated to 2013–14 Liga Alef, Two teams were directly promoted from Liga Alef, and two relegated teams from the Israeli Premier League.
* The 14th place team will compete against the Liga Alef promotion play-off winner for the last spot in 2013–14 Liga Leumit.

### Team changes

Hapoel Ramat Gan were promoted to the 2012–13 Israeli Premier League after beating Hapoel Bnei Lod in the 2011–12 Liga Leumit promotion playoff.
Hapoel Petah Tikva, Hapoel Rishon LeZion, and Maccabi Petah Tikva were directly relegated to the 2012–13 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2011–12 Israeli Premier League season in the bottom three places.
Ironi Bat Yam, Hapoel Herzliya, and Maccabi Be'er Sheva were all relegated to Liga Alef after finishing in the previous season in last three league places. They were replaced by Maccabi Yavne who were promoted to the 2012–13 Liga Leumit after beating Hapoel Asi Gilboa on away goals rule (0–0 away, 2–2 home) in the 2011–12 Liga Alef promotion playoff.

## Overview
### Stadia and locations

| Club | Stadium | Capacity |
| Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium | 06,500 |
| Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | Winter Stadium | 08,000 |
| Hapoel Ashkelon | Sala Stadium | 5,250 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium | 0006,500 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 21,600 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | Levita Stadium | 05,800 |
| Hapoel Nazareth Illit | Green Stadium | 04,000 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | HaMoshava Stadium | 11,500 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Levita Stadium | 0005,800 |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | Haberfeld Stadium | 06,000 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | Ilut Stadium | 04,932 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | Herzliya Municipal Stadium | 08,100 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | HaMoshava Stadium | 11,500 |
| Maccabi Umm al-Fahm | Ilut Stadium | 0004,932 |
| Maccabi Yavne | Yavne Municipal Stadium | 04,000 |
| Sektzia Nes Tziona | Ness Ziona Stadium | 03,500 |
^ ^ ^ The club is playing their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet Premier League requirements.

## Regular season
### Regular season table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 52 | 22 | +30 | 59 | Top Playoff |
| 2 | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 54 | Top Playoff |
| 3 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 49 | Top Playoff |
| 4 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 47 | Top Playoff |
| 5 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 35 | 28 | +7 | 45 | Top Playoff |
| 6 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 42 | Top Playoff |
| 7 | Maccabi Herzliya | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 41 | Top Playoff |
| 8 | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 39 | Top Playoff |
| 9 | Maccabi Yavne | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 38 | Bottom Playoff |
| 10 | Maccabi Umm al-Fahm | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 36 | Bottom Playoff |
| 11 | Sektzia Nes Tziona | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 29 | 37 | −8 | 33 | Bottom Playoff |
| 12 | Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 33 | Bottom Playoff |
| 13 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 31 | Bottom Playoff |
| 14 | Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 50 | −16 | 30 | Bottom Playoff |
| 15 | Hapoel Ashkelon | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 30 | Bottom Playoff |
| 16 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 26 | Bottom Playoff |
* ↑ Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan were deducted two points for violation of the budgetary control authority regulations.
* ↑ Hapoel Kfar Saba were deducted nine points for entering administration.

### Regular season results

| Home \ Away | BTR | HAR | HAS | HBL | HJE | HKS | HNI | HPT | HRA | HRL | MAN | MHE | MPT | MUF | MYA | SNT |
| Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| Hapoel Ashkelon | 2–0 | 1–4 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 4–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 1–3 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2–0 | 1–2 | 7–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | | 3–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Maccabi Umm al-Fahm | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Yavne | 0–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | | 0–1 |
| Sektzia Nes Tziona | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | |

## Playoffs

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 30 games):
Rounds :
| 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th | 37th |
| 1 – 8 2 – 7 3 – 6 4 – 5 | 1 – 2 6 – 4 7 – 3 8 – 5 | 2 – 8 3 – 1 4 – 7 5 – 6 | 1 – 4 2 – 3 7 – 5 8 – 6 | 3 – 8 4 – 2 5 – 1 6 – 7 | 1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4 8 – 7 | 4 – 8 5 – 3 6 – 2 7 – 1 |
| 09 – 16 10 – 15 11 – 14 12 – 13 | 09 – 10 14 – 12 15 – 11 16 – 13 | 10 – 16 11 – 90 12 – 15 13 – 14 | 09 – 12 10 – 11 15 – 13 16 – 14 | 11 – 16 12 – 10 13 – 90 14 – 15 | 09 – 14 10 – 13 11 – 12 16 – 15 | 12 – 16 13 – 11 14 – 10 15 – 90 |

### Top Playoff
#### Top Playoff table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Maccabi Petah Tikva (P) | 37 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 66 | 29 | +37 | 73 | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 2 | Hapoel Ra'anana (P) | 37 | 20 | 10 | 7 | 56 | 33 | +23 | 70 | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 3 | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 37 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 48 | 30 | +18 | 67 | |
| 4 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 37 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 57 | |
| 5 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 37 | 15 | 8 | 14 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 53 | |
| 6 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 37 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 48 | |
| 7 | Maccabi Herzliya | 37 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 44 | |
| 8 | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 37 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 37 | 42 | −5 | 43 | |

#### Top Playoff results

| Home \ Away | HBL | HJE | HNI | HPT | HRA | HRL | MHE | MPT |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | | 1–2 | | | | 3–1 | 0–0 | |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | | | | | 1–3 | 2–1 | | 2–4 |
| Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 1–0 | 2–0 | | | 1–3 | | 2–0 | |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 3–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | | | | 2–0 | |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 3–1 | | | 2–1 | | 2–1 | | 2–1 |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | | | 2–2 | 1–0 | | | 0–0 | |
| Maccabi Herzliya | | 0–3 | | | 1–2 | | | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | | 2–2 | | |

### Bottom Playoff
#### Bottom Playoff table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 9 | Maccabi Yavne | 37 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 49 | |
| 10 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 37 | 13 | 8 | 16 | 49 | 47 | +2 | 47 | |
| 11 | Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | 37 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 46 | 59 | −13 | 44 | |
| 12 | Maccabi Umm al-Fahm | 37 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 41 | |
| 13 | Hapoel Ashkelon | 37 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 41 | |
| 14 | Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla (O) | 37 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 45 | 58 | −13 | 40 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 15 | Sektzia Nes Tziona (R) | 37 | 7 | 16 | 14 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 37 | Relegation to Liga Alef |
| 16 | Hapoel Kfar Saba (R) | 37 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 32 | Relegation to Liga Alef |
* ↑ Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan were deducted two points for violation of the budgetary control authority regulations.
* ↑ Hapoel Kfar Saba were deducted nine points for entering administration.

#### Bottom Playoff results

| Home \ Away | BTR | HAR | HAS | HKS | MAN | MUF | MYA | SNT |
| Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | | 2–1 | 2–3 | | | 1–1 | | |
| Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | | |
| Hapoel Ashkelon | | | | | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 1–1 | | 1–2 | | 0–2 | | | |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 0–0 | | | | | | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Maccabi Umm al-Fahm | | | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Yavne | 1–4 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | | 3–2 | | |
| Sektzia Nes Tziona | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | | | 0–2 | |

## Relegation playoff
### Relegation playoff

The 14th-placed Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla faced 2012–13 Liga Alef promotion winner Beitar Kfar Saba. Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla, the winner on aggregate kept its spot in the 2013–14 Liga Leumit. The matches took place on May 24 and 27, 2013.
Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla won 4–2 on aggregate.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Omer Golan | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 18 |
| 1 | Itzik Cohen | Hapoel Jerusalem | 18 |
| 3 | Ahmad Abu Nahyeh | Maccabi Umm al-Fahm | 13 |
| 3 | Mamadou Thiam | Hapoel Ra'anana | 13 |
| 5 | Oren Nissim | Maccabi Yavne | 12 |
| 5 | Kobi Hassan | Hapoel Ra'anana | 12 |
| 5 | Timor Avitan | Maccabi Yavne | 12 |
| 8 | Dani Preda | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 11 |
| 8 | Ran Rol | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 11 |
| 8 | Alain Masudi | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 11 |
| 8 | Serge Ayeli | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 11 |
| Total | Total | Total | 712 |
| Average per game | Average per game | Average per game | 2.41 |
Source: Israel Football Association

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Maor Ida | Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | Hapoel Ashkelon | 3–1 | 14 September 2012 |
| Omer Golan | Maccabi Petah Tikva | Hapoel Ashkelon | 7–0 | 22 December 2012 |
| Eran Malkin | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 3–0 | 12 February 2013 |
| Itzik Cohen | Hapoel Petah Tikva | Hapoel Jerusalem | 3–0 | 5 April 2013 |
| Gil Blumstein | Hapoel Ashkelon | Beitar Tel Aviv | 3–2 | 4 May 2013 |

## Season statistics
### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Shlomi Ashur for Hapoel Rishon LeZion against Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan, 12th minute (24 August 2012)
* Most goals in a match by one player: 3 goals –
** Maor Ida for Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan against Hapoel Ashkelon (14 September 2012)
** Omer Golan for Maccabi Petah Tikva against Hapoel Ashkelon (22 December 2012)
** Eran Malkin for Hapoel Nazareth Illit against Hapoel Bnei Lod (12 February 2013)
** Itzik Cohen for Hapoel Jerusalem against Hapoel Petah Tikva (5 April 2013)
** Gil Blumstein for Hapoel Ashkelon against Beitar Tel Aviv (4 May 2013)

### Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: Orel Edri for Maccabi Yavne against Maccabi Herzliya, 18th minute (24 August 2012)
* First red card of the season: Dudu Avraham for Maccabi Yavne against Maccabi Herzliya, 47th minute (24 August 2012)