Maccabi secured a European group stage tonight (Thursday) after a 3–1 victory and 5-2 on aggregate over Hamrun Spartans to reach the Europa League Playoffs. At the end, Ido Shahar who scored a first half brace and added a an assist after the break for Osher Davida, summed up the match: “I think we started the match well. We controlled things early on, but then we had some minutes we didn’t play that well, that led to a penalty, and luckily for us, they missed,” Shahar said. “I am really happy that we pulled ourselves together. It was a team effort, and the most important thing is that we advanced.”

 

 On the difficulty of playing without fans, Shahar said: “It’s not easy to play without a home stadium, in an atmosphere without supporters. It requires everyone to give much more their maximum. I’m happy we went through.”

On the two goals he scored and the assist he gave, Shahar added: “I’m very happy, but for me, the goals and the assist are just a bonus. I’m happiest and proud both for the club and for the fans. We are representing Maccabi for another year in Europe; we have secured a group stage. To tell the truth, we still haven’t completed our mission, which is to qualify for the Europa League, that’s our target. We have a very tough match in the next stage against a big club with European tradition. We’ll need to come in at peak readiness and full focus to get through those two games and achieve our goal.”

Preview

A week after recording a dramatic 2-1 victory in Malta over Hamrun Spartuns, Maccabi returned to the TSC Arena in Backa Topola for the return leg of the Europa League 3rd qualifying round. Zarko Lazetic’s side that were knocked out of the Champions League campaign by Pafos, have one task on their minds – advancing past the Maltese to the Playoffs where they will face Dynamo Kyiv that were also beaten by the same Pafos in the corresponding round. Lazetic made three changes from the side that won in Malta as Raz Shlomo Shlomo teamed up with Nemanja Stojic as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper Roi Mishpati. Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s back-four. Issouf Sissokho in the anchorman role was joined by Ido Shahar i the engine room while Dor Peretz at the top of the midfield trio led the team out with the captain’s armband. Elad Madmon who scored the late winner in Malta, was handed a place in the starting line up, as was Osher Davida who was named on the opposite flank. Ion Nicolaescu led the line as the Moldovan striker is still seeking his first goal in a Yellow and Blue shirt.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Ofek Melika who completed his one match touchline ban following his dismissal against Pafos a fortnight ago, Lazetic named fellow keeper Shalev Saadya, Heitor, Ali Camara, Dor Turgeman, Weslley Patati, Denny Gropper, Noam Ben Harush, Ben Lederman, Itamar Noy, Saied Abu Farchi, Itay Ben Hemo.

First Half

Maccabi tried scoring an early goal as they looked dangerous right from the start. Inside the opening minute Roy Revivo whipped in a cross from the left which was directed at Dor Peretz before Marcelina Emerson managed to get a touch and deflect the ball out for a corer. The resulting corner almost resulted with an opener as Nemanja Stojic rose unmarked above Hamrun’s defense but sent his header over the crossbar from close range. In the 10th minute Osher Davida cut inside from the left and was brought down by Ryan Camenzuli who was consequently booked by Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi. Maccabi almost scored from the resulting free kick which was crossed by Davida and reached Revivo whose right-foot volley forced goalkeeper Henry Bonello to make his first save.

A last gasp Tyrese Asante tackle in the 25th minute rescued Maccabi from conceding but from the resulting corner Hamrun were awarded a penalty following the intervention of VAR after Davida was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area. Emerson stepped up to take the spot kick but blasted his shot which shaved the crossbar and sailed high. A water break called by the referee due to the hot weather conditions allowed Maccabi to regroup on the touchline. Three minutes after the hour mark Maccabi came close to break the deadlock as Issouf Sissokho picked Revivo whose square ball found Peretz whose flick went wide of the post. 

In the 37th minute Maccabi finally took the lead as Raz Shlomo split Hamrun’s defense open with a long pass into the path of Ido Shahar. The diminutive midfielder shrugged off a defender on the edge of the area and with only the keeper to beat buried his shot in the bottom corner. The visitors almost leveled the score two minutes later as Jovan

Čadjenović sent a volley crashing against the post before Rafael Compri had his effort blocked by Shahar. Čadjenović was booked for a foul on Revivo on 41 but two minutes later Hamrun. Joseph Mbong broke into the box and rolled the ball past Mishpati and into the bottom far corner to take the score to 1-1 on the night but 2-3 on aggregate. Inside stoppage time Davida’s good work down the right saw him beat his man and square to Shahar who flicked the ball home with one touch to score his second on the night which restored Maccabi’s two-goal aggregate lead.

Second Half

Lazetic made two substitutions after the break as Elad Madmon and Ion Nicolaescu were both replaced by Weslley Patati and Dor Turgeman at the restart. In the 54th minute Peretz was sent clear through but as he tried going around the keeper Bonello blocked with his feet only for Issouf Sissokho to clip the rebound which landed on the roof of the net. Seconds later at the opposite end Mishpati denied N’Dri Philippe Koffi as the veteran Maccabi custodian charged off his line to save with his feet.

Four minutes after the hour mark Lazetic made another double substitution as Shlomo made way for Heitor while Peretz came off and was replaced by Itamar Noy. Noy made an immediate impact as he dominated the midfield winning the ball off the Hamrun opponents. In the 69th minute Shahar turned provider as he picked the ball from Noy and released Davida who broke into the area before curling a low drive into the bottom corner to make it 3-1 and 5-2 on aggregate. In the 80th minute Lazetic added a fresh pair of legs as Ben Lederman came on for Sissokho.

In the 87th minute Turgeman unselfishly fed Patati who tried lifting the ball over the advancing keeper but somehow managed to miscue his shot and clear the crossbar. Turgeman came close himself as he was put through by Davida but despite beating the keeper a Hamrun defender cleared the ball off his goal line.

Following last week’s 2–1 victory, Maccabi departed today (Wednesday) for Serbia ahead of the return leg against Hamrun Spartans in the UEFA Europa League 3rd qualifying round.

All updates from Serbia can be found on the club’s official website and app, as well as on the social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Telegram.

Preparations for Maccabi continued this morning with a training session at Kiryat Shalom. Later, Zarko Lazetic and his players arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, from where the champions’ flight to Belgrade was set to depart. Maccabi is already aware that the winner of the tie against Hamrun will face Dynamo Kyiv in the Playoff, while the losing side will drop to the Conference League Playoff stage and meet the loser of the tie between KuPS of Finland and RFS Riga of Latvia.

At this morning’s press conference, the coach, said: “We need to change our approach and the way we play. Neither the players nor I were satisfied with the manner of play. I was a player myself, so I know what it’s like to play on pitches like the one we played on last week, it is always easier for teams of lesser quality to play there, and there are undoubtedly differences between us and Hamrun. Especially in the first 15 minutes, we could see where the match was heading. We had three chances, and they had two; we had no control, and I didn’t like that. I hope we can correct this for tomorrow.”

Before training, the Swiss Ambassador, Simon Geissbühler, visited the club’s complex to wish success to Ali Camara. Geissbühler is an avid supporter of Camara’s previous club Young Boys as the two exchanged memories from the defender’s time in Switzerland.

Kristijan Belic joined Maccabi from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar after an agreement was reached between the two clubs for a one-season loan deal of the Serbian midfielder, with an option to make the move permanent.

The 24-year-old, Belgian-born midfielder (177cm) has made 39 appearances in all competitions for AZ Alkmaar since joining the Dutch club from Partizan Belgrade in January 2024.

 

After successfully completing his medical and signing his contract, Belic, who will wear the number 17 shirt, told to the club’s official website: “I am delighted to be here, as I see this as a tremendous opportunity to further my career with this outstanding club. Joining a team that has won the championship in each of the past two seasons, I am committed to working tirelessly to ensure these high standards are maintained.

Belic began his football journey at the OFK Belgrade Youth Academy before joining West Ham United’s youth setup at the age of 15. He went on to make 17 appearances in the U18 Premier League, including his competitive debut in August 2016 in a 1-0 win over Tottenham, as well as four appearances for the U23 side.

At 18, Belic moved to Greece to join Olympiacos U19 and made his senior debut at 18 years and nine months. In 2021, he returned to Serbia to join FK Cukaricki, making 13 appearances before moving to Partizan Belgrade at the start of the 2022/23 season. Over one and a half seasons with Partizan, Belic recorded 55 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals and providing five assists.

Belic has represented the Serbian national team twice at senior level, in addition to appearances for the U21, U19, and U17 sides.