5 – 2
“Igor Zlatanovic gives Hapoel Be'er Sheva the lead after Kaheem Parris hit the post and Joy-Lance Mickels had two shots blocked in the same sequence, converting at the second time of asking.”
Pivotal“Guy Mizrahi restored Hapoel's lead from a corner, heading home after a header from Itay Rotman had missed to give the visitors a 1-2 advantage and significant control of the tie.”
Pivotal“Substitute Tellur Mütallimov, on the pitch for just three minutes, converted from a corner assisted by Tymoteusz Puchacz to make it 3-2 in the dying seconds of normal time — turning the tie on its head and sending the match to extra time in Sabah's favour.”
Pivotal“Orphé Mbina capitalised on Hapoel's numerical disadvantage immediately, finishing from Aleksey Isayev's assist just seconds after Diop's dismissal to make it 4-2 and end the tie as a contest.”
Pivotal
Sabah
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Outstanding performance
Sabah•AttackerSabah rode a rollercoaster Champions League qualifier to eventually overpower Hapoel Be'er Sheva 5-2 across the two legs, with the second leg at home ending 4-2 after extra time. Hapoel arrived with Igor Zlatanovic sharp from the first whistle, and his 10th-minute opener gave the Israeli side belief, only for Christian Nwachukwu to level almost immediately after a flurry of corners and blocked shots from Sabah. The match swung again when Guy Mizrahi restored Hapoel's lead on 61 minutes, but Sabah's tactical substitutions proved decisive — Umarali Rakhmonaliev equalised on 74 minutes, and then substitute Tellur Mütallimov, on the pitch for barely three minutes, headed home a last-gasp 90th-minute corner to flip the momentum completely. Hapoel's Djibril Diop, already on a yellow for time-wasting, was dismissed for a foul in extra time, and Orphé Mbina capitalised instantly to seal the tie at 101 minutes. The numbers told the full story of Sabah's control — 27 shots to 14, 71 dangerous attacks to 35, and six big chances created compared to Hapoel's one — but the Israeli side's resilience and Sabah's wastefulness (five big chances missed) kept this far tighter than the statistics suggested it should have been.
How entertaining was this match?
Offside.
Orphé MbinaShot on goal! Orphe Mbina scores with a header.
assist: Aleksey Isayev
Goal! Orphe Mbina scores, assisted by Aleksey Isaev. The score is now 4-2.
On comes Ofir Davidadze, off goes Itay Rotman.
Second yellow card shown to Djibril Diop.
Orphe Mbina takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Offside.
Shot by Orphe Mbina with his right foot is saved.
Offside.
Yonas MaledeYellow CardYonas Malede receives a yellow card.
Aden McCarthy replaces Tymoteusz Puchacz.
Tellur MütallimovTellur Mutallimov scores with a right-footed shot.
Orphe Mbina takes a shot with his head, but it is saved.
assist: Tymoteusz Puchacz
Goal! Tellur Mutallimov scores to make it 3-2, assisted by Tymoteusz Puchacz.
Corner awarded.
Tellur Mutallimov takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Corner awarded.
Shot by Joy-Lance Mickels with a header goes wide.
Corner awarded.
Shot - Joy-Lance Mickels Head Shot Missed
Yellow card for Djibril Diop.
Tellur Mutallimov comes on for Akim Zedadka.
Abdulakh Khaybulaev is on, and Veljko Simic is off.
Mohammed Abu Rumi takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Corner awarded.
Eliel PeretzYellow CardYellow card issued to Eliel Peretz.
Xander Severina is on, and Umarali Rakhmonaliev is off.
Yonas Malede takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Orphe Mbina attempts a header but misses the shot.
On Yonas Malede, off Javon Romario East.
Matan Baltaxa is substituted for Guy Mizrahi.
Umarali RakhmonalievUmarali Rakhmonaliev takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
assist: Orphé Mbina
Goal! Umarali Rakhmonaliev scores to make it 2-2, assisted by Orphe Mbina.
On comes Roy Levy, off goes Niv Yehoshua.
Yellow card issued to Ivan Lepinjica.
Offside.
Corner awarded.
Rahman Dashdamirov attempts a header but misses the shot.
Umarali Rakhmonaliev takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Corner awarded.
Veljko Simic takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
Orphe Mbina takes a shot with his head but misses.
Offside.
Substitution: Orphe Mbina comes on for Kaheem Parris.
Aleksey Isaev is on, and Christian Nwachukwu is off.
Guy MizrahiShot by Guy Mizrahi with his right foot results in a goal.
Goal! Guy Mizrahi scores, making it 1-2.
Corner awarded.
Shot by Itay Rotman with a header, but it misses the target.
Corner awarded.
Eliel Peretz takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Eliel Peretz takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Corner awarded.
Joy-Lance Mickels takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Corner awarded.
Shot - Christian Nwachukwu Head Shot Missed
Joy-Lance Mickels takes a right-footed shot that hits the post.
Niv Yehoshua takes a right-footed shot, but it misses the target.
Offside.
Djibril Diop comes on for Miguel Angelo Leonardo Vitor.
Christian Nwachukwu takes a right-footed shot but misses.
First half ends with the score at 1-1.
Shot from Lucas de Souza Ventura with his right foot, but it is saved by the goalkeeper.
Eliel Peretz takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Eliel Peretz takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Christian NwachukwuChristian Nwachukwu takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
Goal! Christian Nwachukwu scores, making it 1-1.
Joy-Lance Mickels takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Umarali Rakhmonaliev takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Corner awarded.
Mohammed Abu Rumi comes on for Igor Zlatanovic.
Umarali Rakhmonaliev takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Kaheem Parris takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Corner awarded.
Shot by Lucas de Souza Ventura is blocked after a right-footed attempt.
Niv Yehoshua takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Offside.
Offside.
Umarali Rakhmonaliev takes a right-footed shot, but it is saved.
Igor Zlatanovic takes a shot with his right foot, but it is saved.
Kaheem ParrisYellow CardKaheem Parris receives a yellow card.
Umarali Rakhmonaliev takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Igor ZlatanovicShot from Igor Zlatanovic with his left foot finds the back of the net.
Goal! Igor Zlatanovic scores to make it 1-0.
Joy-Lance Mickels takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Joy-Lance Mickels takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Kaheem Parris takes a left-footed shot that hits the post.
VAR decision: Goal disallowed for offside against Igor Zlatanovic.
Goal! Igor Zlatanovic scores to make it 1-0, assisted by Zahi Ahmed.
Igor ZlatanovicGoal! Igor Zlatanovic scores to make it 1-0, assisted by Zahi Ahmed.
Veljko Simic attempts a header but misses the shot.
Corner awarded.
Kick-off! The referee is Istvan Kovacs.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva arrive in Baku holding a 2-1 aggregate lead after a dramatic first-leg comeback, leaving Sabah needing at least a one-goal winning margin to reach the Champions League group stage. With 15,000 fans already ticketed for this decisive second leg, the atmosphere at Bank Respublika Arena promises to be electric — but the math firmly favors the Israeli side.
