Preview
Carrying a 3-1 lead from last week’s first leg at the TSC Arena, Maccabi arrived at the Lublin Arena for the return leg of the EUROPA League playoff against Dynamo Kyiv.
Maccabi’s Head Coach Zarko Lazetic made no changes from the side that won last week as Roi Mishpati started in goal with Heitor and Ali Camara lining up as the two central defenders in front of him. Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s defensive line. Issouf Sissokho and Kristijan Belic were named once again in the engine room. Dor Peretz who scored a brace last week, led the team out with the captain’s armband at te top of the midfield trio. Osher Davida and Sagiv Jehezkel supplied the width to Maccabi’s formation in support of Elad Madmon who spearheaded the attack.
On the bench alongside goalkeepers Ofek Melika and Shalev Saadya, Lazetic named Raz Shlomo, Denny Gropper, Yonas Malede, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Itamar Noy, Saied Abu Farchi, Ido Shahar, Itai Ben Hamo and Ion Nicolaescu.
First Half
The hosts took the initiative right from the start as Dynamo Kyiv took the lead as early as the fifth minute. Oleksandr Pikhalonok was given the time and space to whip in a cross from the left which eluded Maccabi’s defense. Former Maccabi Panamanian forward Eduardo Guerrero goosed into the box and sent a header which went in off the post to beat Roi Mishpati to gave Kyiv the lead and cut the deficit to 3-2 on aggregate. Guerrero could have doubled Kyiv’s lead on the night in the 11th minute as he burst down the left of Maccabi’s defense and from a tight angle fired across the face of goal and wide.
In the 25th minute Issouf Sissokho was cautioned by the referee for a for a foul on Vitaliy Buyalskyi inside the center circle. Four minutes after the half hour mark Dor Peretz had the first attempt on goal which was blocked by a defender for a corner. The resulting corner was cleared by Kyiv’s defense all the way to Mishpati who picked Roy Revivo witb an accurate pass. Revivo slipped the ball to Peretz who had another shot on goal as Ruslan Neshcheret required two attempts to collect. In the 39th minute Oleksandr Karavayev found himself inside Maccabi’s penalty area but from a comfortable position shot wide. On the stroke of halftime Maccabi reached its best chance as Revivo combined well with Sagiv Jehezkel whose cut back found Elad Madmon inside the area. With Neshcheret off his line Madmon fired the his effort which was blocked by a defender on his goalline.
Second Half
Lazetic made one change after the break as Itamar Noy replaced Sissokho at the restart. Eight minutes into the second half Revivo burst into the box from the left and unleashed a powerful drive that Neshcheret managed to push onto his post before Kyiv’s defense managed to clear. Lazetic made his second change in the 68th minute as Madmon bowed out and was replaced by Ion Nicolaescu.
Lazetic made his second change in the 68th minute as Madmon bowed out and was replaced by Ion Nicolaescu. Raz Shlomo came on for Heitor in the 76th minute as Lazetic made his third substitution on the night. In the 85th minute Davida charged into the box before clipping the ball to Peretz whose header narrowly missed the target. Ben Lederman replaced Belic a minute later as Lazetic added a fresh pair of legs into the midfield that never stopped chasing throughout the match.
Kyiv kept pushing men forward in an attempt to level the score on aggregate and force extra time. The fourth official signalled five minutes of added time as Maccabi were desperate to hang onto the lead.
