The Club’s Under-19 team, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv were eliminated from the UEFA Youth Champions League competition following a 2:2 draw with Sigma Olomouc. The two legged tie ended in a 3:3 aggregate score but the Czech side advanced on Ayla goals to the next round. Following the contest, Head Coach Guy Tzarfati summed up his squad’s performance in the tournament:

“After we ended the first leg in the Czech Republic 1:1 we knew that we couldn’t give up a goal at home and we paid the price when they drew 2:2 with us. We still had a pair of chances to score and advance, but that’s football. We didn’t lose, but the result didn’t help us move on in the competition. I’m happy with the players performance and the level of our club Maccabi Tel Aviv shucks operates at the highest levels. Our team was the youngest in Europe and I’m proud as to how we performed. Footballers and winners have to know how to fall and feel the pain. But we’ll now turn our sights on the Israeli league on Saturday.”

Disappointment:
“We’re very disappointed and this is how it should be. I’m disappointed and I won’t sleep well tonight but true winners and football clubs must know how to feel the pain of defeat. This type of loss, even though we didn’t lose on the pitch is tough we we have to know how to raise our spirits and get ready for League play.”

Looking towards the future:
“I think this was a mental lapse and the players hadn’t yet experienced this type of situation being in the Champions League. We felt like we had advanced and we were close, so the disappointment is even more bitter. But the players will have to learn how to deal with it if they want to one day play for the first team. Unfortunately, it happened today but hopefully in the future this will help them in the future.”