“Veljko Simic put Sabah ahead with a stunning early goal, silencing the home crowd and setting up a nervy evening for Hapoel Be'er Sheva.”
Pivotal“Javon East equalised for Hapoel Be'er Sheva just before the break, restoring parity after a half in which the hosts had created chances through Xander Severina and Joy-Lance Mickels but were repeatedly denied.”
Pivotal“Igor Zlatanovic headed home from Eliel Peretz's corner delivery to give Hapoel Be'er Sheva the lead for the first time, moments after Itay Rotman had been booked and tensions were running high — a set-piece routine that proved decisive.”
Pivotal
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Sabah
Outstanding performance
Hapoel Be'er Sheva•AttackerHapoel Be'er Sheva turned a first-leg deficit into a narrow advantage with a performance built on overwhelming territorial dominance and a timely set-piece conversion late on. Sabah stunned the hosts inside six minutes through Veljko Simic, but the Israeli side's relentless pressure — 67% possession, 18 shots, and 72 dangerous attacks — made an equaliser feel inevitable, and Javon East duly delivered just before half-time. The second half was a more measured affair, with Hapoel dictating tempo through their passing game — 659 passes at 90% accuracy compared to Sabah's 305 — yet struggled to find a way through until a well-worked corner routine in the 79th minute saw Igor Zlatanovic convert to seal it. For Sabah, the away goal conceded early now counts for nothing in terms of the scoreline, but they will travel back knowing they were competitive with five shots on target and two big chances created — they will need to be far more clinical in the second leg to overturn this deficit.
How entertaining was this match?
On comes Almeida, off goes Steve Solvet.
Steve Solvet attempts a header but misses the shot.
Joy-Lance Mickels takes a header shot but misses.
Mohammad Kanaan comes on for Niv Yehoshua.
Yonas Malede comes on for Igor Zlatanovic.
Yellow card issued to Amir Chaim Ganah.
Yellow card issued to Amir Chaim Ganah.
Offside.
Igor ZlatanovicShot by Igor Zlatanovic, and he scores with a header!
assist: Eliel Peretz
Goal! Igor Zlatanovic scores to make it 2-1, assisted by Eliel Peretz.
Goal! The score is now 2-1.
Corner awarded.
Yellow card issued to Itay Rotman.
Yellow card shown to Itay Rotman.
Yellow card shown to Miguel Angelo Leonardo Vitor.
Christian Nwachukwu is substituted off for Aleksey Isaev.
Mohammed Abu Rumi takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
On comes Mohammed Abu Rumi, off goes Javon Romario East.
Igor Zlatanovic takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Shot by Lucas de Souza Ventura from Nonoca with a right-footed shot, but it misses the target.
Igor Zlatanovic's right-footed shot is blocked.
On Amir Chaim Ganah, Off Zahi Ahmed.
Igor Zlatanovic's left-footed shot is blocked.
Corner awarded.
Orphe Mbina takes a shot with his head, but it's saved.
Orphe Mbina takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Substitution: Orphe Mbina comes on for Xander Severina.
Corner awarded.
Javon EastJavon Romario East takes a left-footed shot and scores.
First half ends with the score at 1-1.
Javon EastJavon Romario East takes a left-footed shot and scores.
Guy Mizrahi takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
assist: Pedro Amador
Goal! Javon Romario scores, bringing the match to 1-1.
Goal! The score is now 1-1.
Joy-Lance Mickels takes a shot, but it is saved.
Xander Severina's left-footed shot is saved.
Igor Zlatanovic takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Igor Zlatanovic's header is blocked.
Offside.
Offside.
Igor Zlatanovic attempts a header but misses the shot.
Offside.
Corner awarded.
Veljko SimicShot by Veljko Simic results in a goal with a header.
assist: Tymoteusz Puchacz
Goal! Joy-Lance Mickels scores to make it 0-1.
Kick-off! The referee is Davide Massa.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva host Azerbaijani side Sabah in the first leg of their Champions League playoff, with Israeli football history on the line. A tight contest is expected at the Yaakov Turner Toto Stadium, as Be'er Sheva aim to become only the fourth Israeli club to reach the Champions League group stage.
