Pregame

One win away from a historic qualification to the Conference League Round of 32, Maccabi arrived at Bloomfield stadium knowing that only a victory by a two-goal margin could cancel PSV’s 1-0 lead from the first leg.

Maccabi’s coach Mladen Krstajic made several changes from the side that beat Hapoel Haifa in the league on Sunday.

Sheran Yeini returned to the side on the right side of defence at the expense of the injured Andre Geraldes. The veteran captain extended his record as Maccabi’s most capped player in European competitions to lead the team out on the night. Enric Saborit who missed the match against Hapoel Haifa was named as Idan Nachmias’ partner at the heart of defence with Matan Baltaxa who scored one of the goals on Sunday, completed the back-four at left back.

Dan Glazer at the anchorman role right behind Gabi Kanichowsky and Dan Biton. Brandley Kuwas who made a second half substitute appearance in Eindhoven which was echoed at the game against Hapoel Haifa as he set-up both goals, started on the wing. Djordje Jovanovic and Stipe Perica led the line as the two forwards in charge of trying to supply the goals which could see Maccabi qualify.

First Half

Boosted by the electric atmosphere, Maccabi began the match on the front foot as a foul on Djordje Jovanovic after 2 minutes earned Maccabi a free kick deep inside PSV’s half. Dan Biton whipped in a left foot cross which Stipe Perica headed over the bar. Three minutes later, Perica cut the ball back from the byline, but none of his teammates could reach the cross and threaten the goal.

While PSV began to dominate and show their superiority, the best chance came at the opposite end. Perica charged forward down the right side of PSV’s defence and crossed the ball into the path of Biton whose glancing header crept agonisingly wide of the post. With Ibrahim Sangare giving Dan Glazer and Gabi Kanichowsky all sorts of trouble in midfield, Mario Gotze, Noni Madueke and Eran Zahavi kept Maccabi’s defence busy.

Daniel Peretz was forced to a series of punches to keep some of PSV’s corners that always looked dangerous. Erick Gutierrez was the first player to be booked by referee Herald Lechner for a foul on Jovanovic. In the 26th minute Ritsu Doan fired a close range shot which Peretz got a hand to before Kanichowsky cleared the danger.

Madueke’s trickery took him past two defenders and into the penalty area only for Peretz to charge off his line and save with his feet to deny PSV’s Englishman on the half hour mark. Kanichowsky continued to look lively in Maccabi’s midfield as his charge in the 37th minute resulted with a pass that almost released Perica clear through but was blocked by a PSV defender.

With no further clear opportunities before the break, the halftime whistle sent Maccabi down the tunnel knowing they are still in with a chance.

Second Half

None of the coaches made any changes for the restart as Maccabi began the second half with purpose and intention. Fourty five seconds into the second half, Perica, struck the base of the post as Maccabi came close.

After an initial warning from the referee concerning objects thrown onto the pitch, Lechner, bizarrely stopped the game in the 55th minute and called both teams to the tunnel. Seconds after restarting the second half for a second time, a last gasp Sheran Yeini clearance prevented PSV a clear chance to score on 63. Two minutes later, Eran Zahavi bowed out to a standing ovation as he was replaced at PSV by Carlos Vinicius.

Mladen Krstajic made his first change in the 81st minute as Nachmias limped off injured and was replaced by Maor Kandil with Yeini dropping to center back.

Just before Krstajic was about to make a double change as Tal Ben Chaim and Eyal Golasa were ready to replace Biton and Kuwas, PSV scored. Substitute Joey Veerman sent a powerful shot that deflected off one of Maccabi’s defenders to wrong-foot Peretz and take the tie beyond Maccabi’s reach. Ofir Davidzada replaced Matan Baltaxa in the 87th minute. Within a minute the left-back almost created the equaliser for Perica whose shot was saved by PSV’s keeper Joel Drommel.

Bloomfield erupted in the 90th minute as Saborit rose high to head meet Kanichowsky’s free kick and guide his header past Drommel. The fourth official signalled 9 minutes of added time giving Maccabi some hope of scoring a winner and taking the tie to extra time.

Ben Chaim tried his luck as he cut inside and shot with his left but Dommel was there to collect. Peretz went up for a corner in desperate bid to snatch a winner and even managed to stop a PSV counter attack before the referee blew the full time whistle.

 

One of the most lucrative matches in Maccabi’s history in European competitions is set to played at Bloomfield stadium this evening (19:45). Maccabi are chasing a place in the final 16 of the competition as they host PSV Eindhoven for the return leg of Conference League Round of 32. The Dutch side arrived in Israel with a narrow 1-0 lead from last week’s first leg at the Philips Stadion. But with 30,000 fans creating an extra ordinary atmosphere at Bloomfield, Maccabi will try and reverse the score on the way to a historic appearance in the final 16 of a European competition.

As of the start of the 2021/22 season, European Football Governing Body, UEFA, cancelled the away goal rule in two legged ties. As a result, Maccabi requires a victory by a two-goal margin in order to qualify. A victory by a smaller margin in regular time, would see the match continue for 30 minutes of extra time and even sudden death penalties.
Following the first leg in Eindhoven and before the return leg against PSV, Maccabi recorded a 2-0 league victory over Hapoel Haifa last Sunday. Mladen Krstajic’s side are on a run of four successive league victories and are besides the defeat to PSV are unbeaten in the last nine matches in domestic competitions.  
For their part, PSV also travelled to Israel on the back of a league win having beaten Heerenveen 3-1 at home to remain in second place, five adrift of league leaders Ajax. PSV’s coach Roger Schmidt will have a depleted squad at his disposal for the return leg at Bloomfield as Cody Gakpo who scored the only goal of the game against Maccabi last week, didn’t travel to Tel Aviv due to an injury. Midfielder Marco van Ginkel is also set to miss out due to illness, but on the other hand PSV welcomes back Ibrahim Sangare and central defender Olivier Boscagli after serving a one-match touchline ban. Eran Zahavi will capture most of the attention as the 34 year-old Israeli international returns to the renewed Bloomfield stadium for the first time since leaving Maccabi for China in 2016.

If you weren’t a Footballer, what would you be?

“I think I would have had a career in the military. Probably an officer at a combat unit”.

Where will we find you in your free time?

“I spend a lot of my free time with my new family – my wife Maya and my recently new born daughter Emma”.

What do you like watching on TV?

“I am crazy about sports mostly football and basketball. I love watching the NBA especially during the Playoffs”.

Who or what makes you laugh?

“Maor Kandil, without a doubt – his improvisations off the cuff just tear us to shreds”.

What was the prettiest place you had ever been to?

“I travelled to Mexico in 2018 and went to a place called San Cristobal. It is a small town at the heart of Mexico from which we began a trek without mobile phones which was an amazing experience”.

What was your first position on the pitch?

“To be honest from a very young age of playing at Maccabi Shoham, I was a left-back which is the position I prefer to this day”.

Who is the best player you played alongside?

“Eyal Golasa – he is a footballing star and every additional word would be a waste of time”.

Who is the best player you played against?

“Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United. A Portuguese international, I played against several months ago with the Israel national team”.

What was your best game so far?

“I think it was the State Cup tie against Hapoel Be’ersheva last season. We won 1-0 from a goal scored by Dor Peretz”.