The man who always covers for everyone saved Hapoel Be'er Sheva again | Column

In the first half of what will be remembered as the farewell appearance of one of the two best players in the history of Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Kings Kangwa almost gave a gift to Vikingur instead of the team he is leaving for Panathinaikos. His loss of the ball in the heart of Ofir Marciano's penalty area was the second lowest moment in difficult minutes for Be'er Sheva. Lower than that was only the moment when a ball loss near the center line led to a counterattack of four Vikingur players against one Matan Baltaxa.

To advance to the next stage, Be'er Sheva had to score first, but who could think about scoring in those minutes? Not conceding seemed like an impossible task. The man who saved Be'er Sheva in that counterattack was Zahi Ahmed, who appeared from nowhere and sent his foot to clear the ball for a corner. That is Ahmed's thing. He covers for others. A similar sprint he made at Teddy Stadium last season saved Be'er Sheva from conceding a dramatic goal. Ahmed may not score or assist goals in sufficient quantity for the minutes he receives in a top team, but what he lacks in brilliance he compensates for in other ways. He may not have a finishing foot, but he has a finishing heart.

They say there is no justice in football, and that is usually true, but yesterday in the 65th minute there was justice, when Ahmed, of all people, scored the first goal for Be'er Sheva. They were much better in the second half, but to reach a situation where they would have something to play for, Ahmed's critical action was needed in Be'er Sheva's most difficult minutes of the match. Amir Ganah's goal in the 80th minute already branded this evening as 'every broom shoots'. They didn't always shoot, and Be'er Sheva needed reinforcement for the front part even before Kangwa flew to Athens, but yesterday they shot in the right place and at the right time to ensure the Israeli champion a long European season — an economic necessity and probably a professional one too when it comes to trying to keep Lucas Ventura and looking for the replacement who will try to slip his feet into the big shoes left by Kangwa.

Other shoes that did start to fill up last night are the shoes of Or Blorian. Funny, but to get into Blorian's shoes, it was first necessary for Djibril Diao, Blorian's partner in the center of defense last season, to switch to flip-flops. Itay Rotman, who came in for the Senegalese defender for whom no mistake is beneath his dignity, will never have the abilities that brought Blorian to the MLS. He loses to him in arm wrestling when the latter's hands are in his pockets, but last night he earned a place in the lineup thanks to his ball-moving ability and other things that you don't buy at the grocery store. For all the other things that you do buy at the grocery store, Be'er Sheva will have enough money thanks to this victory.