There were plenty of Israeli teams in European competition, as a pair advanced in UEFA Conference League action while one saw its continental campaign come to a crashing end.
Beitar Jerusalem eased past Sutjeska 5-2 (7-3 on aggregate) to cruise into the third round of UEFA Conference League qualifying. The yellow-and-black went down by a pair of goals early on, but then Barak Itzhaki’s side scored five unanswered markers – all by different scorers – to take the win in what was Beitar’s home match, which took place at Stadionul Ilie Oana in Ploiesti, Romania.
Balsa Toskovic scored from the penalty spot to give the Montenegrin squad a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute, while less than 20 minutes later, Sutjeska doubled their advantage on a Boris Kopitovic rebound to take a 2-0 lead. However, Beitar came storming back, as Omer Atzili headed home a Yarden Shua ball in the 41st minute, while Shua knotted the game up at 2-2 in first-half injury time to head into the break with positive momentum.
Grigori Morozov added Beitar’s third goal of the game as he nodded in an Atzili ball, while Johnbosco Kalu scored from inside the box for a 4-2 lead in the 83rd minute. Timothy Muzie added Beitar’s final tally in the 89th minute to close out the game.
Confidence vs. smugness
An excited Itzhaki spoke about the win.
“I don’t think we played well in the first half hour, and the things I feared the most beforehand occurred, as we came in too complacent. It’s good to come in with confidence, but when it turns into being smug, then that’s not good. We all saw that on the pitch during the opening 30 minutes, and we got slapped in the face. However, I’m glad that in the last quarter of an hour of the first half we were able to shake that off and begin to play our game.”
The Jerusalem coach explained what changed after the first half.
“At halftime, I told the guys what needed to be said, and in the second half we played differently, although it wasn’t perfect, but the pace was much better. Anyone who saw the game saw that in the first half hour we moved the ball very slowly, and that’s something that drives me crazy. We’ll have to fix that up, as I’m not willing to see that kind of pace.”
Next up for Beitar Jerusalem is a date with Riga in the third round of qualifying, as it will face the Latvian side which defeated Georgian outfit Dila 5-4 on aggregate thanks to a late goal by Antonijs Cernomordjis. Riga, founded in 2014 after the merger of two clubs – FC Caramba and Dinamo Riga – has been playing in European qualifying since the 2018/19 season but has yet to advance to the group or league stages of any of the three competitions.
This will be the second time Riga will face an Israeli opponent, as it fell to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Champions League first-round qualifying back in 2020/21. Twice Riga has advanced to the playoff round of a competition, once in Europa League qualifying and one time in Conference League qualification, as it will look to do the same against Beitar Jerusalem this season.
In other continental action, Maccabi Haifa blanked Torpedo-Belaz 3-0 (4-1 on aggregate) in Kisvarda, Hungary, to move into the third round of Conference League qualifying.
Dia Saba took advantage of a defensive error by the Belarusian side to give the Greens a quick 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. Dolev Haziza doubled the advantage in the 22nd minute, while Trivante Stewart closed out the contest with a goal in the 78th minute to give Diego Flores’s squad the win. Next up for Haifa is a third-round two-legged tie against Rakow, as the Polish side took care of Zilina 6-1 on aggregate.
“I’m very happy with how the guys played this game,” Haifa bench boss Diego Flores began. “I want to thank all the supporters who came out, as we felt it from the very first minute. This was very important. The opponent was tougher in the first match, and they had played 18 official games to date while we were in the middle of our pre-season. We knew we would have an advantage in the second leg, and we all saw that. Next up for us is an even tougher opponent, but we will have some time now to train.”
Rakow, which plays at the Miejski Stadion Piłkarski in Czestochowa, Poland, will host the first leg on Thursday night. It has played in the group or league stages of a European competition only once, which was two seasons ago.
Founded in 1921, Rakow won the local league back in 2022/23 and participated in Champions League qualification in 2023/24, where it advanced all the way to the playoff round after getting past Flora, Qarabag, and Aris Limassol.
However, in the playoff round, Rakow fell to Copenhagen FC 2-1 on aggregate after putting up a solid fight and moved down to the group stage of the Europa League.
The Croatian duo of Fran Tudor and captain Zoran Arsenic, who have both been with the club for a number of years, anchor the back line and are critical for the Rakow defense that is extremely stingy.
Finally, Hapoel Beersheba played to a goalless draw against AEK Athens at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, in what was the Southern Reds’ home game, as they were eliminated from Conference League action, falling to the Greek side 1-0 on aggregate as the Israeli squad’s European season came to a stunning end.