Preview:
Maccabi arrived at the Lublin arena in Poland for the Conference League MD4 match against Zorya Luhansk of the Ukraine. Maccabi hasn’t played competitive football since the 2-0 defeat to Gent on October 5th due to the ongoing war in Israel, with the home match against the Ukrainians postponed from October 26rh to November 25th.
Having beaten Icelandic outfit Breidablik on MD1 and before a ball is kicked against Zorya, Robbie Keane’s side were ranked 3rd in the table, a point behind their Ukrainian opponents.
Keane made several changes to his starting line-up handing a debut Maccabi appearance to Panamanian goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera. Enric Saborit partnered Derrick Luckassen as the two central defenders in front of Mosquera, with Avishai Cohen and Roy Revivo completing the back-four on the right and left, respectively. Joris van Overeem and Dor Peretz were named by Keane in the midfield engine room alongside Gabi Kanichowsky. Dan Biton and Felicio Milson supplied the width to Maccabi’s side in support of Eran Zahavi who led the line and the team out wearing the captain’s armband.
On the bench, Keane, named goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum and Idan Nachmias, Dor Turgeman, Yonatan Cohen, Sheran Yeini, Eyal Golasa, Ofir Davidzada, Ido Shahar, Nir Bitton, Kiko Bondouso, Osher Davida and Yvann Macon.
First Half
The match began with a minute of silence in memory of the fatalities in Israel on and since the October 7th terrorist attack. After Eran Zahavi took the kickoff the players stood still for 7 seconds to commemorate the day the war in Israel began. It took Maccabi six minutes to create the first chance as Dan Biton tried curling a left foot shot which struck a defender and deflected out for a corner. The resulting corner led to Maccabi’s opener which was scored by the unlikeliest of sources and in a spectacular fashion. A well drilled corner saw Gabi Kanichowsky pick Luckassen at the far post with a pinpoint cross only for his header to be blocked. The Dutch central defender pounced on the rebound and sent a back-heal flick that went off the keeper to open the scoring with his debut Maccabi goal.
The hosts began taking charge of the game and in the 22nd minute Maccabi’s defense struggled to clear the danger as the ball fell to Denys Nahnoinyi. The Ukrainian midfielder blasted a shot from the edge of the area which was equaled by Orlando Mosquera.
Three minutes later however Maccabi doubled their lead as Dor Peretz ghosted into the area and was on the end of an Eran Zahavi dipping cross to head in the second and make it 2-0. Peretz could have scored another goal shortly after as he headed Avishai Cohen’s pinpoint cross towards goal, but Mykyta Turbaievskyi pulled a spectacular save to claw the ball from under the crossbar. Mosquera was called into action once again as the Panamanian keeper turned Petar Micin’s powerful drive over the crossbar on the half hour mark.
Mosquera was the busiest amongst the two keepers as Zorya tried breaching Maccabi’s goal on several occasions but the Panamanian custodian frustrated the Ukrainians with a string of saves. In the 42nd minute Maccabi increased their lead to 3-0 as Felicio Milson sent a cross from the right, before Peretz nodded home for his second on the night.
Second Half
While Robbie Keane made no changes for the second half, his counterpart replaced former Maccabi forward Eduardo Gurrero with Ihor Horbach at the restart. The second half began where the first one left off as Zahavi came close but saw his right foot shot curl wide of the post. Luckassen was booked for a foul near the halfway line on 55 and within a minute Zorya had the ball in the back of Maccabi’s net. The intervention of VAR spotted an offside as Micin’s goal was chalked off and Maccabi’s three goal lead was restored.
Keane made his first change in the 65th minute as Nir Bitton came on for Dan Biton with Enric Saborit switching to left back while Roy Revivo pushed into the midfield. Zorya almost scored instantly but Vikentii Voloshyn’s shot that beat Mosquera struck the base of the post before Maccabi’s keeper collected the rebound.
Joris van Overeem who worked tirelessly in midfield was taken off in the 70th minute together with Revivo as Keane introduced Eyal Golasa and Dor Turgeman.
Golasa almost made an immediate impact three minutes after his introduction as he released Zahavi to face the keeper, but the veteran marksman saw his effort blocked by Turbaievskyi. Zorya cut the deficit from a counter-attack on 73 as Horbach was released before slotting his shot past Mosquera to make it 3-1. Maccabi’s keeper pulled another stunning save to push a shot which was heading for the top corner on 76.
Ido Shahar and Osher Davida were introduced for Milson and Zahavi in the 89th minute shortly before the fourth official signaled five minutes of added time.
The full-time whistle confirmed Maccabi’s victory as both teams will meet later this month to play the rescheduled MD3 which will be played once again at a neutral venue.
