The knockout that shocked the Marakana: Danny Dvorin's column

The best thing Hapoel Be'er Sheva did yesterday, Tuesday, in the second leg against Red Star was to ignore the skeptics, who throughout the week referred to Belgrade's Marakana as hell. The result: 2:0 in favor of the Israeli champion, and 3:0 on aggregate over the two matches.

Be'er Sheva not only advanced to the Champions League playoffs, but also achieved a resounding knockout that proved once again that a large and noisy stadium and crowd do not win games. The better team wins. Whoever did not know this until yesterday received an instructive personal lesson. Hapoel played better in both meetings, and even a 4:0 score in the match would not have been an injustice to Red Star.

This time we were treated to one of the greatest games in Be'er Sheva's history. It will be remembered as such for many years to come, just as Red Star will remember it forever. If the Serbian champion hoped to score a goal that would cause the sky to fall on Be'er Sheva, it turned out that they had nothing to offer in the second leg either. The Be'er Sheva defense, led by veterans Ofir Marciano and Miguel Vitor, created an impassable wall against them, and its attack easily scored two goals that sealed the fate of the ticket to the next stage.

In such an impressive victory, all its players deserve praise for the enormous effort they invested, and for the wisdom with which they easily neutralized Belgrade's attacks. This task, which ended in success, was only one of the components of the victory. For in the second half, Igor Zlatanovic and Javon East scored the goals, leaving the hosts in complete shock. The shock raised their stress and tension levels, which resulted in a red card for their coach Dejan Stankovic, and another red card for their player Abu Fani.

All the team's players and their coach, Ran Kozuch, are credited with the Israeli victory. But there were some who deserved special compliments, first and foremost Lucas Ventura. The undisputed ruler of the center of the field was at his best, both in winning balls and in the passes he distributed. Although he got tired towards the end, which is no wonder, the score I give him is 9. Alongside him, Eliel Peretz and Niv Yehoshua did their maximum, and in the attack, Javon East recorded his best game since arriving in the capital of the Negev.

The Israeli champion's sights are now set on the final hurdle, the Azerbaijani team Sabah. This is a real opportunity, and I truly hope that Hapoel Be'er Sheva will not let it slip through their hands.