It looked as if Maccabi was going to fall for the first time in 2016/17 but just before the final whistle Dor Micha started a wonderful play that ended with a goal by new recruit Yossi Benayoun. The Yellow & Blue drew with the Kazakhstan side 1:1 a week before the return leg in Israel.
Following the match, the midfielder spoke about the all important goal that he scored in the dying minutes of the match: “Every goal is important and it’s always fun to score, but the result is what is crucial. It was a difficult game against a quality side. It could have ended with a different result, but thankfully we scored in the last minute and it gives us a good starting point going into next week.”
Scoring an away goal:
“Anytime you score an away goal it’s good, but we also saw them have plenty of chances and if we would have given up another goal we would have paid the price. With our fans at home and a good feeling going into the game, we have to advance to the next round.”
On drawing again against Arshavin:
“I also played with Arshavin at Arsenal, but everyone remembers the classic 4:4 draw in which I scored the tying goal. I would have been happier had he not scored, but all things being said we had a good result here. We’ll have to work hard to get by them and into the third round.”
