| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Israel |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Maccabi Tel Aviv (8th Title) |
| Runners-up | Hapoel Petah Tikva |
The1954–55Israel State Cup (Hebrew:גביע המדינה,Gvia HaMedina) was the 18th season ofIsrael's nationwide football cup competition and the third after theIsraeli Declaration of Independence.
Matches began on 22 January 1955, but was not concluded until the end of the 1954–55 season, and the later rounds were held in autumn 1955, at the beginning of the 1955–56 season. The final was held at theBasa Stadium inTel Aviv on 19 November 1955.Maccabi Tel Aviv appeared in its fifth consecutive final and after defeatingHapoel Petah Tikva 3–1, won its 8th cup.
First round matches were played betweenLiga Gimel teams. Matches were held on 22 January 1955. However, since there was a dispute between theMaccabi andHapoel faction within theIFA, Maccabi teams declined to play their matches. These matches, completing the round, were played on 19 February 1955.[1]
Liga Bet teams entered the competition. Matches were held on 26 February 1955. Two ties went into a replay, and one, betweenLiga Gimel teamsHapoel HaMegabesh andHapoel Be'er Ya'akov needed a further replay in order to be settled.The tie betweenHapoel Nahariya andHapoel Beit Lid also proved troublesome. While Nahariya won the match between the team 2–0, awalkover win was given to Beit Lid since the playing field in Nahariya was lacking a fence between the field and the stands. Nahariya appealed the decision and went to civil court in order to obtain an injunction forbidding any further cup matches until the matter is resolved. However, as in the month between the second and the third rounds the appeal was accepted and the original result was restored, there was no delay.
| Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| Hapoel Be'er Ya'akov | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel HaMegabesh |
| Ahva Notzrit Haifa | 4–2 | Hapoel Kiryat Haim |
As the tie betweenHapoel Be'er Ya'akov andHapoel HaMegabesh wasn't settled, a draw of lots were held, in which Hapoel Be'er Ya'akov won.[2]
Most ofLiga Alef teams, which entered the competition on this round, cruised to the next round.Maccabi Petah Tikva foundLiga Gimel clubMaccabi Shmuel Tel Aviv hard to beat, being saved by a 90th-minute goal to go through, andHapoel Balfouria needed extra time to win at home againstHapoel Ra'anana.Most matches were played on 26 March 1955. Two matches, both scheduled to be played in Jerusalem, were postponed due to weather conditions and were finally played on 7 May 1955, both ending with surprise winners, asLiga Gimel clubOrthodox Haifa thrashedHapoel Jerusalem fromLiga bet andLiga Aleph clubHapoel Kfar Saba crashing toLiga bet club (and former cup finalist and joint-holder)Maccabi Jerusalem.
The 17 winners from the previous round were drawn to eight ties, withHapoel Balfouria receiving a bye to an intermediate round. All matches were held on 28 May 1955.
Bye:Hapoel Balfouria
Of the eight fourth round winners,Hapoel Petah Tikva was drawn to playHapoel Balfouria. The match was supposed to be played on 9 July 1955, butBalfouria withdrew andPetah Tikva was given awalkover win.
| Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | w/o | Hapoel Balfouria |
The 1955–56 season opened with the task of completing last season's cup competition. Three of the four ties, all played on 27 August 1955, yielded a decisive result, withMaccabi Tel Aviv registering its third consecutive 6–0 win, while the other tie was only settled after extra time was played.
| Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|
| Beitar Tel Aviv | 0–4 | Hapoel Petah Tikva |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 6–0 | Hapoel Hadera |
| Hapoel Haifa | 0–4 | Maccabi Haifa |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Hapoel Ramat Gan |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 5–0 | Maccabi Haifa |
|---|---|---|
Merimovich 36'Cohen 40' (o.g.)Studinski 55',73'Glazer 88' |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–1 | Hapoel Petah tikva |
|---|---|---|
| Nahmias 8' Glazer 35'Studinski 68' | Kofman 84' |