Maccabi Tel Aviv will host Shakhter Karagandy at Bloomfield (20:30) leading by 2-1 from last week’s first leg in Kazakhstan and aiming to complete the task by qualifying to the Conference League group stages. Maccabi’s midfielder, Dan Glazer, spoke at the pre-match press conference about the preparations for the game: “We have a good result from last weeke’s first leg as we managed to bring the decider back to Bloomfield”.
The 24-year-old still has a vivid memory of the second half two-minute comeback at the Astana Arena: “It was proven here last season and in the previous years that this is a team that has a very strong character. The goal we conceded woke us up and reminded us we need to always remain focused. At this stage of the competition one has to get the results in addition to improving our form. We will show better ability in the future – I have no doubt about it.
With growing numbers of people in Israel being infected in COVID and the threat of football being played behind closed doors, Glazer added: “Let me use the opportunity to ask the fans to be responsible and follow the instructions of the Health Ministry. Once in the stadium, wear a mask at all times. The last match I sat in the stands, it was not comfortable or pleasant but still – let us make sure that fans remain in the stadium so we don’t go back to the dark age of matches behind closed doors”.
