Djorje Jovanovioc, will join FC Basel after Maccabi Tel Aviv FC reached an agreement for his sale of the 24-year-old Serbian striker who joined from Cukaricki in January 2022.

Thank you Djole and Good luck!

Yonatan Cohen’s goal at the AEK Arena in Larnaca earned Maccabi a 1-1 draw in last week’s Conference League 3rd qualifying round first leg as he now faced the media ahead of the return leg: “The match in Larnaca was positive as we created loads of chances against a team that mostly defended” Cohen said. “At such European matches if you don’t score you get punished and end up. The match could have easily turned on its head if not for the penalty save of Daniel Peretz who kept us alive. I am sure that with a packed Bloomfield stadium and with the support of our fans, there is no reason why will not complete the task. We will come humble yet determined and hope we will do it.”

Cohen, whose second half goal in Cyprus was his second in four competitive matches this season, sport about the start of this campaign: “Both the team and myself began the season on a high note, but we still have some tasks to complete. Clearly, last season wasn’t what I expected it to be but a footballer’s career can lead you to various directions and one must always be prepared to deal with failure or success. I am happy that I managed to deal with it in a good way and move on, as nothing is over.”

On his relationship with his new coach, Robbie Keane, Cohen added: “We have had some conversations, Before a player and a coach he is also an amazing person who speaks with me at eye level. We have a good chemistry, had some good conversations which is something I really appreciate and I really love his high demands. He expects me to improve all the time and he demands a lot both from me and the entire team. I think that we will all improve, and on a personal note – I must as well, so that I prove that my place is on the pitch.”

Cohen, who spent a couple of week’s this summer together with his wife as guest at Eran Zahavi’s house, spoke of the bond he struck off the pitch with the veteran striker: “In short, we met several years ago whilst on national team duty. I think we clicked immediately. We bonded and remained in touch despite playing for different clubs. We had many conversations last season and he helped persuading me to return and promised ‘I will help you and you will do well’. The bond we have is very solid, we are close friends off the pitch, our wives are good friends as well. We all had a holiday together in the summer and as my wife and I moved out of our flat and were considering to move in with a parents for a fortnight – they invited to host us. I would like to thank Shai and Eran as we are all close friends. Our target though is to win the championship back to Maccabi, win more titles but first and foremost secure qualification to the group stages and that begins against Larnaca at Bloomfield.”

Maccabi hosts AEK Larnaca on Thursday (Bloomfield, 20:00) for the return leg of the Conference League 3rd qualifying round. Shortly before we battle it out with the Cypriots for a place in the Playoffs, we recalled a similar scenario Maccabi experienced exactly five years ago.

Maccabi began the 2018/19 season with a European campaign that saw the team compete for a place in the EUROPA League group stages.

After advancing past Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros 2-1 on aggregate before a 4-2 aggregate victory over Radnicki Nis of Serbia – Maccabi were drawn against Pyunik. A 0-0 in Yerevan, was followed by a return leg in Netanya on August 16th 2018 for a tricky match which ended on a high note with a Playoff berth.

Daniel Peretz kept his outstanding record as he made a late penalty save to ensure that Maccabi salvage a 1-1 draw from their first leg away to AEK Larnaca. In the 86th minute, with the score at 1-1, AEK were awarded a penalty, but Peretz saved Ivan Trickovski’s spot kick, his 5th of the last 8 attempts in all competitions.

Peretz, who saw his teammates miss several chances, said at the end of the game: “That is football for you. When you take a lead and fail to score the second goal – there will always be chances. We should have scored these chances. We played really well, up until the final action which is where we should improve and intend to do so next Thursday.”

Peretz, who had a good view of the action from the his end of the pitch, added: “We missed loads of chances which is a good sign of us creating chances. A lot of this has to do with the sharpness of the players, as we work a lot on finishing at the end of our training sessions. I am confident the goals will come.”

The young custodian who experienced an extra ordinary summer with the Israel U21’s that reached the Semi Finals of the European Championships after Peretz saved several spot-kicks, spoke about the penalty he saved against AEK: “It is no secret that I watch a lot and analyse penalties of opposing players – and it paid off once again. I have to give a lot of credit to our analyst Gal (Fishman) who always helps me and collects the clips for me which is not an easy task.”

Ahead of next week’s return leg against AEK at Bloomfield, Peretz added: “Our fans arrived here today and we could hear and feel them right from the start. I know this is nothing compared to the atmosphere they will create at Bloomfield next week. We know we need everyone with us next week especially as the current score means that we must win.”

Eran Zahavi, who missed a series of chances which could have easily sealed Maccabi’s victory at the AEK Arena, admitted after the match: “I take for responsibility for the result as I had enough chances to kill the game off”.

“We were taught a lesson today” Zahavi added, “We should have put this game to bed before reaching this stage. We should have been leading 2-0 or 3-0 and make this game a lot more calm than we actually did. We didn’t score the second goal which is a shame and we are fortunate to have Daniel with us as he saved us tonight. Penalties are his expertise so it is god he is still here and now we have to finish it off at Bloomfield”.

The 36-year-old striker, summed up: “We need to give a lot of credit to all the fans who turned up here tonight, 600 or 700 from Tel Aviv who supported us and made us feel them. We paid them back with a good game of football, slightly less in terms of the result but now we will return to Bloomfield. I know the stadium will be full next week, we will receive the support we are used to and hope to achieve the result we want.”

Preview

Maccabi arrived at the AEK Arena in Larnaca for the first leg of the Conference League 3rd qualifying round supported by around 600 travelling fans. For the match against the Cypriot side, Maccabi’s coach, Robbie Keane, made four changes to his side that beat Petrocub Hincesti last week in Moldova.

Daniel Peretz started in goal with Nir Bitton partnering Enric Saborit at the heart of defense. Roy Revivo kept his place as he made his second senior start at left-back while Yvann Macon completed the back-four on the right. Joris van Overeem continued in the anchorman role, with Dor Peretz and Dan Biton completing Keane’s unchanged midfield trio. Parfait Guiagon who impressed as he came off the bench last week before scoring the opener in Chisinau, started on one wing with Yonatan Cohen on the opposite flank. Eran Zahavi led the team out wearing the captain’s armband as well as Keane’s attack upfront.

On the bench amongst the substitutes, Keane, named Roi Mishpati, Dan Glazer, Dor Turgeman, Gabi Kanichowsky, Sheran Yeini, Eyal Golasa, Derrick Luckassen, Ofir Davidzda, Eylon Almog, Shahar Piven, Ido Shahar and Djordje Jovanovic who all waited for their chance to make an impact.

First Half

The match began at frantic pace as both teams pressed forward right from the off aiming to score an early goal. Two minutes after the start Dan Biton was booked by Belgian referee, Nathan Verboomen for a clumsy challenge on Nenad Tomovic. AEK’s Angel Garcia was also shown yellow for protesting the color of Biton’s card. The resulting free kick was clipped into the box by Gustavo Ledes, eluded Maccabi’s defense but was headed wide by Facundo Sanchez.

Within a minute Maccabi’s claims for a penalty were waved by Verboomen despite Biton clearly brought down in the area by Tomovic. AEK and Maccabi continued to look dangerous at both ends of the pitch and in the 10^th minute Roy Revivo was required to head the ball right from the goalmouth following a Garcia cross which managed to catch Daniel Peretz off guard. Three minutes later, Eran Zahavi slid the ball to Yonatan Cohen, but Maccabi’s forward who had only AEK’s keeper to beat, failed to connect. Peretz was called into action in the 16^th minute as he tipped over the bar an Adam Gyursco shot before Ledes missed a close-range header two minutes later. Maccabi continued to push forward as Cohen tested Kenan Piric with a curling left foot shot which was equaled by AEK’s keeper in the 20th minute.

A second penalty claim was also dismissed by the Belgian referee on 25 after AEK’s Bruno Gama handled the ball inside the area.

Four minutes after the half hour mark, Dor Peretz released Eran Zahavi with a through ball from the halfway line but he saw his effort sail wide of the left post. Maccabi created their best chance so far as Parfait Guiagon and Dor Peretz exchanged passes on the edge of the box before teeing-up Zahavi. Only for the veteran marksman to miss the target once again from a position he normally scores. In the 36 minute Zahavi blasted a shot over the crossbar as it was clear that it wasn’t going to be his day.
The referee’s halftime whistle sent both teams to catch their breaths following the action-packed first half and prepare for the second half.

Second Half

With no changes at the restart, Maccabi began the second half on the front foot as Guiagon stole a ball bear the halfway line and released Zahavi who was clear through but was let down by his first touch.

In the 51^st minute, Guiagon and Biton exchanged passes to break into AEK’s area, but the Ivorian who received the cut back and was in a good position to score – sent a weak shot straight at the keeper. The chances continued to fall in Maccabi’s way and less that 30 seconds later a Zahavi chip managed to confuse two AEK defenders as the ball fell to Peretz who broke clear through. But the 28-year-old midfielder saw his miscued effort roll across the face of goal and to the wrong side of the post. Maccabi continued to look dangerous and should have taken the lead two minutes later as Biton found Zahavi deep inside box before he unselfishly set up Peretz. But from five meters out, the hard-working midfielder somehow managed to guide his shot straight at Piric. AEK’s Spanish coach Jose Luis Oltra made his first change on 55 as Imad Faraj replaced Rafael Lopes. Enric Saborit was booked by Verboomed for a foul on fellow countryman Fran Sol in the 58th minute.

Two minutes after the hour mark, Maccabi’s keeper needed to remain alert to catch Sol’s volley, which was making its way into the top corner following a Gyurcso corner. But the deadlock was finally broken in the 64th minute as Cohen cut inside from the right before unleashing a left foot powerful drive that beat Piric to send the 600+ travelling fans off their seats.

A Maccabi counter-attack on 69 began with a Van Overeem through ball to Guiagon. The diminutive Ivorian sent a shot-come-cross that deflected off a defender before Piric clawed the ball out for a corner.

The hosts were back on level terms in the 80th minute as Fran Sol rose above Enric Saborit to flick a goal kick into the path of Faraj. AEK’s substitute stole the ball before Nir Bitton could clear, raced through on goal and toe-poked his effort beyond Peretz. Three minutes later the hosts were awarded a penalty as Yvann Macon was beaten to a tackle in the center circle before Gyurcso charged forward with Bitton judged to have brought him down in the area. Ivan Trickovski stepped up to take the spot-kick but Peretz pulled another heroic stunning save to keep out the penalty.

Despite the fourth official indicating six minutes of added time, no goals were scored as the tie will now be decided at Bloomfield next week.

Nir Bitton returned to Israel and joined Maccabi last summer after nine successful seasons at Glasgow where he won 18 trophies with Scottish giants Celtic. Bitton, who featured 55 times for Celtic in the Champions League and Europa League clearly knows what it takes to reach those levels: “The coaching staff will prepare us in the best possible way. They (Larnaca) reached the Round 16 in Conference League last season so we are dealing with a good, strong and experienced side. We will need to be at our best in order to beat them and we will hope to do so. We have a target this season – reaching the group stages.”

Biton who played in 2 of Maccabi’ three matches so far tis season, in the 6-1 victory away to Be’ersheva followed by the 3-0 victory over Petrocub at Bloomfield in the previous round, added: “I started last season on a high note as well. I believe in myself and know what I can give. Several things happened last season that got me a little out of my flow. Then there was the change in the coaching staff midway through the season. Now we have a new coach and we are all trying to adapt to his style. I am receiving a good feedback, which is not something one should take for granted. As far as I am concerned, it is not an individual sport but a team sport so I will keep on doing my best for the team like I have done throughout my career.”

Bitton, then shared some of the personal difficulties he experienced upon returning to Israel, as he didn’t hide his emotions: “There are things that happen off the pitch that people are not aware of, there is a family especially kids. One has to admit that even though I am Israeli and spent most of my life here, I returned after nine years of playing abroad. I never opened up on this until today, but my kids experienced a big crisis when we all returned. They suddenly didn’t hear English around them and the little one even suffered from issues with his speech. He struggled with the language, with adapting to Israel. Such things can effect an entire family and take a footballer off balance. There are issues that are beyond our control, but people tend to judge you based on your performance on the pitch, yet there are matters like family that are a little more important than football.”