Tomer Hemed has hardly been prolific in his first season with Almeria, having joined the lowly Andalucians from Mallorca at the start of the season on a two-year deal, but his brace at La Rosaleda secured three valuable points for Juan Ignacio Martinez's side and doubled Hemed's tally for the season to four. The Israel striker had previously notched the winner in Almeria's 1-0 win at Celta Vigo before the Christmas break and has now taken his EFL points total to a strong 80.
Hemed's record at Mallorca had been respectable rather than impressive, the striker having been on target 20 times in 90 games during his three years with the Balearic Islanders. It is not always easy to shine in a struggling side, something Hemed is experiencing again at Almeria.
He has, however, registered a better scoring ratio at international level, earning 15 caps for Israel and netting 10 goals, including a hat-trick against Luxembourg in 2012. Starting out in his home country, Hemed spent six years with Maccabi Haifa, scoring 16 times in 49 appearances before a series of loan spells with Israeli sides and an eventual move to Spain in 2011.
Hemed's first against Malaga came when Jose Antonio Verza played the ball into the home side's penalty area, the striker reacting quickly to smash home from the edge of the six-yard box.He later grabbed the winner, putting away the spot-kick after being adjudged to have been fouled by Miguel Torres.
His overall physical strength and ability to hold the ball up was just as important as his goals in helping Almeria to secure a valuable win on Saturday, a result that saw them pull away from the drop zone after a poor first half of the season.
The nadir of the first part of Almeria's campaign was an eight-game winless streak that culminated in a 5-2 defeat at Eibar last month and prompted the dismissal of Coach Francisco Rodriguez. Hemed scored just once under Francisco's command, netting in a 2-2 draw with Elche in October.
Despite crashing 4-1 at home to Real Madrid immediately following Francisco's departure, Almeria have stabilised under Martinez, defeating Real Betis over two legs in the Copa Del Rey, notching that important win at Celta andnow ending Malaga's four-game winning run.They climbed to 14th in La Liga after Saturday's win, three points clear of the relegation zone.
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