Maccabi now face Spartak Trnava in the third qualifying round as the Slovakian side that hosted next week’s first leg, beat Rumanian outfit Sepsi in a penalty shoot-out.
Pregame
Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the return leg of their Conference League second qualifying round against Sutjeska, knowing that only a victory will see them through to the next stage and continue the European journey.
With a 0-0 draw from the first leg in Montenegro, Patrick van Leeuwen’s side were aiming not only to advance but also to put behind them Sunday’s 2-0 Super Cup defeat which would give the fans a lift.
Enric Saborit and Matan Baltaxa returned to defense at left back and center-back respectively as they both joined Louis Hernandez and Andre Geraldes to complete the back four. Dan Glazer returned to the anchorman role in midfield replacing Eden Karzev who was serving a one-match touchline ban due to his dismissal in Podgorica. Shahar Piven and Avi Rikan completed van Leeuwen’s midfield trio supporting the attack of Yonatan Cohen, Eduardo Guerrero and Osama Khalaila.
First Half
The hot and very humid weather conditions so both teams struggle at the the beginning of the game as none of the keepers were put under threat.
In the 25th minute however, the deadlock was finally broken by Osama Khaliala who celebrated his home debut by heading in Yonatan Cohen’s corner.
Three minutes later Eduardo Guerrero came close to double the score he was sent clear through by Avi Rikan only to see his low shot blocked by the feet of goalkeeper Vladan Giljen. Right on the half hour mark, Khalaila almost turned provider as he teed-up Shahar Piven but the midfielder who only had the keeper to beat sent a weak shot that was collected with ease. Out of nowhere the Montenegrin side almost grabbed an equaliser as a mis-timed Enric Saborit tackle allowed Marko Vukovic to break into Maccabi’s box before firing a right foot shot against Daniel Peretz’s post. But in the 33rd minute Maccabi managed to double their lead in style at the end of a team effort that resulted with Khalaila blasting in his second to make it 2-0.
Second Half
Two minutes before the interval Avi Rikan had a shot on goal that cleared the crossbar as the halftime whistle sent both teams to refresh themselves in the dressing rooms. The second half began where the first one left off as Saborit charged half the length of the pitch and released Cohen who should have scored Maccabi’s third but instead opted for power rather than accuracy and blasted the ball into the stands. Mistakes get punished in football as the Montenegrin side cut the deficit in the 50th minute with a Vladan Bubanja header that deflected off a Maccabi defender to make it 2-1 on 51.
Van Leeuwen made his first change four minutes later as Matan Hozez replaced Cohen and in the space of one minute Guerrero forced the Montenegrin keeper to make two saves. Ofir Davidzada replaced Saborit and Ido Shahar came on for Rikan as Van Leeuwen handed the diminutive midfielder his home debut in the 60th minute. Five minutes later and after good work by Guerrero, Hozez, with the goal at his mercy, somehow managed to hook his shot over the crossbar.
Van Leeuwen made his final two substitutions in the 77th minute as Eylon Almog and Tal Ben Chaim replaced the tireless Guerrero and Khalaila who bowed out to a standing ovation.
In the 86th minute Almog was given a chance to seal the victory after good work from Hozez down the right wing, but the young forward didn’t manage to beat the keeper with his right foot shot from the edge of the area.
Inside injury time however, Shahar stole the ball deep inside Sutjeska’s half and sent Almog who needed two attempts to beat the keeper, secure the victory and Maccabi’s passage to the next stage.
