90 minutes from history: Hapoel Be'er Sheva fights for a Champions League ticket
Hapoel Be'er Sheva faces one of the most important matches in its history this evening. Ran Kozuch's team will play the decisive Champions League qualification playoff leg against Sabah in Baku.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva faces one of the most important and greatest matches in its history this evening, Tuesday. Ran Kozuch's team will be hosted at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the decisive second leg in the Champions League qualification playoff round.
The "Reds" arrive at the fateful encounter with a fragile but significant 2:1 lead, achieved in the first leg held last week in Romania, thanks to goals by Javon East and Igor Zlatanovic. A draw or a win on aggregate will grant Kozuch's charges a historic ticket to the new league phase of the Champions League. On the other hand, the local double-winner Sabah will try to utilize the home advantage and erase the deficit.
Alongside the hundreds of red fans who accompanied the team to Azerbaijan and held a festive march through the streets of Baku, there is great excitement in the capital of the Negev. The Be'er Sheva Municipality set up a special viewing area with a giant screen on the KKL pedestrian street in the Old City, where thousands of fans arrived to push the players from afar.
Coach Ran Kozuch radiated optimism ahead of the encounter:
"What we have done so far is an achievement, and we will try to bring an even greater achievement."
