It was a game which is impossible to forget. It was in the qualifying rounds on the way to the group stages and after a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Helsinki. Before we entered extra time, we needed to win” Liran Cohen recalls the previous meeting Maccabi Tel Aviv had with HJK Helsinki in the summer of 2004.
Late that summer Maccabi reached a historic landmark by reaching the Champions League group stage for the first time in the club’s history. After a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Finland, the tie was set to be settled in the return leg at Bloomfield stadium. The hero on the night was the young midfielder who grew up at the Youth Department and was promoted to the first team at the age of 21 before scoring an 88th minute winner that beat the Finnish side.
“There was pressure of a game that looked like going wither way, like 50:50” recalls 38-year-old Cohen on the eve of the Conference League match against HJK in Finland. “I was introduced in the second half and felt that I am capable of doing it as I reached one or two chances beforehand and knew I needed one more time to score the goa and finish the tie. I felt that something good was going to happen”.
“The opponent were a physical side, a European team by all means. They were not a great footballing side but it was a tough match. Each team was trying to breach each other’s defence in order to advance through to the next stage. Neither team wanted to make a mistake that was of cost us dearly. Towards the end of the match we created chances and looked dangerous” he adds before reaching his glorious moment in the 88th minute. “After scoring there was total madness, it was insane. This was a goal that took us up a stage and there is no better feeling than that. No one could know what would have happened in extra time or a penalty shoot-out”.
“This goal together with the goal against PAOK in the next round are probably the two most important goals of my career. I think they were also arguably the most significant goals in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s history” Cohen said.
This is how it happened: Watch the victory over Helsinki
As opposed to the goal scored by Liran Cohen, a move that didn’t capture the headlines as much was the injury time goalmouth clearance of Ghanaian defender John Panstil. Cohen however, recalls the incident vividly: ”One can’t forget that. After taking a late lead, every goal we would have conceded would have knocked us out thanks to the away goal rule, not even led to extra time. They had an attack and I remember goalkeeper Liran Strauber coming off his line, before their player (Jukka Santala) blasted a shot which didn’t just hit Pantsil but he headed off the line and saved it”.
“I remember after the game but were quick to land on our feet and stand firmly on the ground. We knew we have yet to reach the group stage and that there is still another round as we were just hoping for a comfortable draw”. PAOK Thessaloniki were the next opponents as Maccabi won the first leg in Greece by 2-1 with Erez Messika and Ishmael Ado getting their names on the scoresheet. In hindsight it emerged that the Greeks fielded an ineligible player as Maccabi won the match 3-0 by default which didn’t leave any doubt ahead of the return leg. Cohen scored the only goal of the game as Maccabi reached the Champions league group stage for the first time.
“It was a season where many young players who were not used for such levels, were the backbone of the squad. It was difficult to combine between the Champions League and the domestic league but ultimately we had a successful European campaign and won the State Cup so it was a good season” Cohen summed up.
