Barak Bachar is preparing to throw a teenager into the deep end. With Maccabi Haifa still searching for their first points of this Toto Cup campaign, the coach is set to start 19-year-old Glenn Alvin in goal on Tuesday against Ironi Tiberias, Sport5 reports.
It will be Alvin's first competitive start for the senior side. The young keeper has already had a taste of first-team action this summer, coming on as a substitute during the 3-0 defeat to Ironi Kiryat Shmona, where he was said to have "displayed good ability" in his cameo.
His chance has come about through misfortune elsewhere. Omri Glazer, Haifa's first-choice goalkeeper, picked up an injury in that same loss to Kiryat Shmona and will not be available for the trip against Tiberias, leaving Bachar with little alternative but to trust his academy product between the posts.
There is a second absentee to work around in midfield. Ali Mohamed, the Niger international who has become a regular in Bachar's engine room, felt discomfort in his ankle during the Kiryat Shmona match. Scans have not revealed any significant damage, according to Sport5, but he has not been training this week and will sit out against Tiberias, with a return to full training expected before the weekend.
There is better news on the fitness front elsewhere in the squad. Yarin Levy, who had been sidelined by a virus, is fit again and set to return to the starting lineup, while veteran winger Kenny Saief has resumed full training for the first time in three months after a long spell on the sidelines.
The context adds urgency to Tuesday's fixture. Maccabi Haifa have lost both of their opening group-stage matches in this year's Toto Cup - beaten 3-2 by local rivals Hapoel Haifa in the derby before the heavier 3-0 defeat to Kiryat Shmona - and Sport5 frames the Tiberias game as a chance for Bachar's side to show "improved capability" after that rocky start.
For Alvin, it is a significant opportunity to stake a claim as more than just emergency cover, at a club that has historically been willing to trust academy graduates when injuries create an opening. How he performs against Tiberias is likely to shape how quickly Bachar turns to him again once Glazer is back to fitness.
