The pressure is released, Hapoel Be'er Sheva found its heroes: "Continue to dream"

Immense satisfaction at Hapoel Be'er Sheva following the victory in the return leg on Wednesday against Vikingur, which erased the loss to the Icelandic champion last week. Hapoel Be'er Sheva arrived at the home match in Hungary with their backs to the wall, under great pressure, and yet they managed to keep a clean sheet, score two goals, and advance, at least to the Conference League. After three years in which the team failed to play in a European competition alongside the Israeli Premier League, Hapoel Be'er Sheva will finally play in two competitions and also has another opportunity to dream of the Champions League.

In the third round, Red Star Belgrade awaits them, and no one is giving up in advance.

"It will be a different type of match. This time we will naturally come as underdogs. The pressure will not be on us. It is so different from what we went through against Vikingur," they said yesterday at the club. "We need to continue to dream and believe that it is possible to stay in this competition."

The match did not start easily for Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and they had to carve out the victory. Ran Kozuch's decisions were correct. First, the placement of Zahi Ahmed in the lineup. The winger, the team's "handyman" who can play in a variety of roles, scored the first goal with a wonderful header and throughout the match did excellent offensive and defensive work. There is no doubt that Ahmed earned his place in the lineup for the upcoming games as well. Kozuch also went with Miguel Vitor, and the captain delivered one of his best performances in a long time. Vitor was number one in defense, reminding everyone of his great days when he was younger.

At a certain point, Itay Rotman came on as a substitute for the injured Djibril Diop. The defender who arrived from Hapoel Petah Tikva entered the hearts of the fans largely thanks to the bandage on his head, which he wore for long minutes after being hit. Kozuch brought on Eliel Peretz and Amir Ganah as substitutes early in the second half, and the changes were spot on: Peretz took control of the center of the field, and Ganah worked nicely on the wing and scored the second goal.

For Kings Kangwa, who is leaving Hapoel Be'er Sheva, it was a fairly mediocre game. Lucas Ventura and Igor Zlatanovic will also need to raise their level in the next round against Red Star Belgrade so that Hapoel Be'er Sheva has a real chance to pass the Serbian champion. The one who will join the team ahead of the games against Red Star Belgrade is the Portuguese left-back Pedro Amador, who signed a four-year contract yesterday and will be available for the next match.