Preview

Three months after securing qualification to the Conference League Round of 16, Maccabi Tel Aviv returned to the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia for the return leg against Olympiacos this time aiming to boo a place in the Quarter Fina for the first time in the club’s history. With previous matches held behind closed doors, this time round Maccabi were back by around 400 fans as well as club owner Mitch Goldhar.

With his carrying a 4-1 lead from last week’s first leg in Athens, Robbie Keane made no changes to his side that has won five of their last five outings. Roi Mishpati kept his place in goal with Enric Saborit and Idan Nachmias as the two central defenders in front of him. Ido Shahar on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s back four. Joris van Overeem in the anchorman role accompanied by Dor Peretz and Gabi Kanichowsky were Maccabi’s three-man midfield engine room. Felicio Milson on one wing and Osher Davida on the opposite flank supplied the width while Eran Zahavi led the line and the team out with the captain’s armband.

On the bench Keane named Daniel Tenenbaum and Orlando Mosquera as his two goalkeepers while his field players waiting for their chance to make an impact were Avishay Cohen, Dor Turgeman, Dan Biton, Yonatan Cohen, Eyal Golasa, Derrick Luckassen, Ofir Davidzada, Matan Baltaxa, Kiko Bondoso and Eden Karzev.

First Half

The match began just as it did in Athens last week with Olympiacos enjoying most of the possession in the first few minutes. Felicio Milson who left his mark on the Greek side as he tormented them in Piraeus, showed his trickery early on but the Angolan winger required medical treatment after being hacked down by Olympiacos’ Brazilian full back Rodinie yet Italian referee Maurizio Mariani opted to keep his cards in his pocket. In the 10th minute Enric Saborit lost possession deep inside Maccabi’s half as Olympiacos broke forward before Daniel Podence fired a shot which Roi Mishapti couldn’t keep out as the ball went in off the post to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Olympiacos’ goal cut Maccabi’s aggregate lead to 4-2 and as Milson couldn’t continue and limped off in the 14th minute he was replaced by Dan Biton. 

Joris van Overeem, Gabi Kanichowsy and Dor Peretz were battling hard in midfield as Olympiacos gained more and more confidence. In the 22nd minute Osher Davida broke down the left flank before his cross was easily collected by goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis. Three minutes later at the opposite end Mishpati was called into action as Podence and Francisko Ortega combined well before the ball was squared to Ayoub El Kaabi whose shot was saved by the Maccabi keeper. Olympiacos doubled their lead on the night in the 36th minute as Ido Shahar lost possession after a Maccabi attacking corner. Podence released Kostas Fortounis who raced from the halfway line before the Olympiacos captain buried his shot past Mishpati to give the visitors a 2-0 lead and cut the aggregate deficit to a solitary goal. In the closing stages of the first half Idan Nachmias fell to the ground clutching his right knee shortly before the fourth official indicated four minutes of added time. Three minutes inside injury time, Olympiacos increased their lead to 3-0 as Andre Horta released Podence who charged down the right side of Maccabi’s defense before sending a pinpoint cross into the path of Ayoub El Kaabi. The Moroccan striker found himself in plenty of space as headed the ball down giving Mishpati no chance to level the tie on aggregate and totally wipe out Maccabi’s victory from the first leg.

Second Half

With no changes to either side at the restart, Maccabi came out for the second half determined to improve their performance in the first half and get back in the tie. Four minutes after the restart, Rodinei was released into the area but his attempt of a cut back was intercepted by Saborit who cleared for a corner. In the 54th minute Maccabi were awarded a penalty at the end of what was their most dangerous attack of the game. Roy Revivo slipped the ball to Kanichowsy who dribbled into the area before being brought down by Paniagiotis Retsos. Mariani pointed at the spot and Eran Zahavi picked the ball and confidently sent Tzolakis the wrong way to make it 3-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.

The goal gave Maccabi the much needed lift they required but in the 65th minute Olympiacos scored in spectacular fashion after El Kaabi’s overhead kick beat Mishpati. Olympiacos restored their three goal lead making it 4-1 on the night and 5-5 on aggregate to stun the Maccabi travelling fans. Davida broke into the area in 70th minute and he miscued his pass to Zahavi he slid into the keeper who charged off his line and was consequently booked. Keane made his second substitution on the night as Dor Turgeman replaced Joris van Overeem adding more firepower upfront.

Maccabi came inches away from scoring as Dor Peretz timed his run to perfection to meet Davida’s pinpoint cross on 77. But from what seemed like the goalmouth, and with Tzolakis stuck on his line, Peretz, managed to send the ball to the wrong side of the post. With Olympiacos leading 4-1 on the night and the aggregate score set on 5-5 the fourth official indicated five minutes of added time. Substitute Stevan Jovetic could have ended the tie as managed to break through past Maccabi’s defensive line but sliced his shot wide. Maccabi’s defense was put under pressure as Olympiacos received two late corners but as time run out the full time whistle sent both teams into 30 minutes of extra time.

Extra time

Before he could even touch the ball, Cohen, was penalized for a foul on Podence between the penalty area and the corner flag. From the resulting free kick Olympiacos increased their lead to 5-1 and took the lead for the first time during this two legged tie as Fourtounis’ free kick fell to Jovetic whose low drive beat Mishpati at the near post. Olympiacos seemed to have taken the tie beyond Maccabi’s reach in the 103rd minute as Santiago Hezze carved the defense open as he released Gorgios Masouras who skipped past Mishpati to tee-up Yousse El-Arabi for an easy tap-in. At the start of the second period of extra time, Keane, made two more changes as Davida and Biton bowed out and were replaced by Kiko Bondoso and Yonatan Cohen.