| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Israel |
| Defending champions | Maccabi Petah Tikva |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Maccabi Tel Aviv (7th Title) |
| Runners-up | Maccabi Netanya |
The1953–54Israel State Cup (Hebrew:גביע המדינה,Gvia HaMedina) was the 17th season ofIsrael's nationwide football cup competition and the second after theIsraeli Declaration of Independence.
The competition started in March 1953, after yet another agreement ending a rift between theHapoel andMaccabi factions in theIFA, 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 theBasa Stadium inTel Aviv on 3 July 1954.Maccabi Tel Aviv defeatedMaccabi Netanya 4–0 and won its seventh cup.
10 of the 11Liga 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, betweenBeitar Haifa andHapoel 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
26 teams fromLiga Bet joined the six qualifiers from the first round. Matches were played on 18 April 1953.
The 12 teams ofLiga Alef entered the competition. Matches were held on 2 May 1953.Maccabi Tel Aviv andMaccabi Jerusalem required a replay, which was delayed and was finally played on 12 September 1953.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Maccabi Jerusalem | 0–4 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
The final 14 teams met in this round, which matches were played on 14 November 1953, except for the match betweenHapoel Tel Aviv andMaccabi Petah Tikva, which was postponed to 9 January 1954. Both teams requested the postponement as they had major players injured after theIsrael's1954 FIFA World Cup qualification matches atGreece andYugoslavia.
The match betweenHapoel Jerusalem andHapoel 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 atHapoel Kiryat Haim, before scoring a 90th-minute equalizer, and winning the match in extra time.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Petah Tikva |
In early March 1954,Israel played the1954 FIFA World Cup qualification return home matches againstYugoslavia andGreece, and then went on a two-month tour ofSouth 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 |
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 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4–0 | Maccabi Netanya |
|---|---|---|
Halivner 32'Glazer 73',76'Studinski 74' |