1944 Palestine Cup

The 1944 Palestine Wartime Cup (Hebrew: הגביע המלחמתי, HaGavia HaMilhamti) was a special edition of the Palestine Cup, intended to be a standalone cup competition and not an Israel State Cup edition. However, the IFA recognize the title as part of the main competition.^[1]

1944 Palestine Wartime Cup

Tournament details
Country	Mandatory Palestine
Final positions
Champions	Hapoel Tel Aviv
Runner-up	Hapoel Petah Tikva
← 1943 1946 →

Draw for the competition was held on 5 February 1944, without the participation of Beitar teams, which withdrew from the competition in protest over the EIFA treatment of Beitar Tel Aviv after the team's match against NSC Cairo in the previous summer.^[2]

Cup matches began on 20 February 1944,^[3] but delays caused the final to be played almost a year later, on 13 January 1945. In the final, Hapoel Tel Aviv had beaten Hapoel Petah Tikva 1–0.^[4]

Results

First round

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Maccabi Tel Aviv	9–1	Hakoah Tel Aviv
Hapoel Rishon LeZion	1–7	Hapoel Petah Tikva
Hapoel Ramat Gan	0–3	Maccabi Rishon LeZion

Second round

Home Team	Score	Away Team
RAF XI	1–3	Hapoel Haifa
Maccabi Tel Aviv	1–2	Maccabi Rehovot
Maccabi Ramat Gan	2–6	Maccabi Rishon LeZion
Hapoel Itzhar Ramat Gan	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Maccabi Petah Tikva
Harari Tel Aviv	0–5	Hapoel Tel Aviv
Maccabi Nes Tziona	2–6	All-White
Maccabi Netanya	w/o	Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Petah Tikva	2–0	Hapoel Rehovot

Replay

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Maccabi Petah Tikva	w/o	Hapoel Itzhar Ramat Gan

Quarter-final

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Hapoel Petah Tikva	3–1	Hapoel Haifa
Maccabi Nes Tziona	3–1	Maccabi Rishon LeZion
Maccabi Netanya	0–1 (abandoned) [note 1]	Maccabi Petah Tikva
Maccabi Rehovot	0–1	Hapoel Tel Aviv

Replay

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Maccabi Netanya	0–2	Maccabi Petah Tikva

Semi-finals

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Hapoel Petah Tikva	7–0	Maccabi Petah Tikva
Hapoel Tel Aviv	w/o [note 2]	Maccabi Nes Tziona

Final

Hapoel Petah Tikva	0–1 (abandoned '86)	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	Summary	Erlich 53'

13 January 1945

Maccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Burger

Notes

1. The match was abandoned as the crowd invaded the pitch.^[5] A replay was ordered.
2. In the match, which ended with a 2–2 draw, Maccabi Nes Tziona fielded Avraham Bogdanov from Beitar Tel Aviv, which was registered with the EIFA 3 days before the match. After the match, the EIFA rules that the played was ineligible for the match, as players had to be registered at least 4 days before a match, and Nes Tziona was disqualified.^[6]

References

• 100 Years of Football 1906–2006, Elisha Shohat (Israel), 2006

1. "List of Cup winners" (in Hebrew). Israel Football Association. Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
2. Beitar's Football Teams Left the War-Cup Matches^{[permanent dead link‍]} HaMashkif, 6 February 1944, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
3. War Cup 1944 Matches Started^{[permanent dead link‍]} HaMashkif, 20 February 1944, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
4. The War Cup to Hapoel T.A.^{[permanent dead link‍]} Al HaMishmar, 14 January 1945, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
5. Surprises in the War Cup Matches^{[permanent dead link‍]} HaMashkif, 7 May 1944, Historical Jewish Press
6. Why Did Nes Tziona Lost the 1944 War Cup^{[permanent dead link‍]} HaMashkif, 17 December 1944, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)