Abu Farchi, who made his Europa League debut start, was first asked about the goal he scored and whether he could have wished for a better start. He answered: “It’s a great feeling to score, but I could have wished to win the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that, we move forward.”

On Maccabi’s performance he added: “In the second half we created chances, we just needed someone to put in the second goal, and then maybe the third and fourth would have come too. But that’s football, nothing to be done.”

About his preparation for the match, the 19-year-old striker shared: “I didn’t tell my parents I was starting, because my father would have kept talking to me about it, he lives football 24/7. I prepared well for the match and I’m happy I scored.”

Finally, when asked if he thinks he deserves more minutes, he replied: “Do I deserve it? I think so, but in the end it’s the coach’s decision, and I accept all the decisions. I’ll keep working hard, I hope to get my chances in the future and make the most of them”.

Preview

Maccabi returned to the TSC Arena in Backa Topola where they hosted the entire qualification campaign ahead of the first Europa League phase home match against Dinamo Zagreb. On the back of two 0-0 draws away to PAOK in Thessaloniki on MD1 and Bnei Sakhnin in the league, Maccabi will aim to return to winning ways. But Zarko Lazetic’s which will aim to win the first three points of the league phase this season will have their work cut out for themselves as the match kicks off two hours after the Yom Kippur fast. With a large number of Maccabi’s squad observing the day of Atonement and holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Lazetic shuffled his side.

Roi Mishpati who was the man of the match during the draw in Athens last week, kept his place in goal. Ali Camara and Heitor were the two central defenders at the heart of Maccabi’s defense lining up in front of the 32-year-old custodian. Roy Revivo who wa suspended against Bnei Sakhnin returned to the side with Tyrese Asante completing Maccabi’s defensive line on the right. Issouf Sissokho and Ben Lederman were assigned to the midfield engine room with Kristijan Belic assigned to a more attacking role. Kervin Andrade and Helio Varela supplied the width to Maccabi’s formation in support of Saied Abu Farchi who at the age of 19 led the attack in what is his first European start and fifth appearance in all competitions this season.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Yoav Gerafi and Ofek Melika, Lazetic named Sagiv Jehezkel, Raz Shlomo, Denny Gropper, YOnas Malede, Elad Madmon, Noam Ben Harush, Itamar Noy, Itay Ben Hemo, Dor Peretz, Osher Davida and Ion Nicolaescu.

First Half

The cold weather conditions which welcomed both teams at the TSC Arena at Backa Topola must have had an effect o the start of the game as neither managed to cause any serious threat on goal. In the 14th minute however Maccabi that seemed to launch all its’ attacks from the right via Helio Varela, took the lead. Varela received the ball deep inside Dinamo Zagreb’s half and squared it to Ben Lederman who slipped it for Saied Abu Farchi. The 19-year-old striker who raced into the box managed to get the slightest of touches to squeeze his shot under the advancing keeper Ivan Nevistic and roll in to put Maccabi in front. It didn’t take the visitors too long to get back on level terms as Dinamo equalized two minutes later.

Josip Misic carved Maccabi’s defense open with a through ball to Mateo Lisica who blasted a right foot shot into the top corner giving Roi Mishpati no chance. Dinamo completed their comeback in the 19th minute as Moris Valincic broke into the box from the right and squared to Dejan Ljubicic who turned and found the bottom corner between Mishpati and the post to make it 2-1. Dinamo continued their good spell and almost scored a third on 25 as Aber Hoxha skipped past Tyrese Asante before cutting inside and curling a dangerous shot which narrowly missed the target.

Maccabi continued to look dangerous on the right as Varela’s bursting skill and pace took him past Bruno Goda right on the hour mark but his attempt of a square ball was blocked by Dinamo’s defense for a corner which was cleared. 

Dinamo kept moving the ball around trying to find another opening but the midfield trio of Kristijan Belic, Lederman and Issouf Sissokho managed to handle everything the Croatians threw at them. In defense, Heitor, Ali Camara and Roy Revivo were able to keep the visitors from having another go at Mishpati’s goal before the halftime whistle was heard.

Second Half

With no changes to either side at halftime both sides return to the pitch for the second period in a bid to try and score more goals. Two minutes after the hour mark Kervin Andrade had a sight of goal but his right foot effort from the edge of the area sailed wide. A minute later Lazetic made a triple change as Raz Shlomo came on for Heitor, Dor Peretz replaced Lederman and Osher Davida replaced Abu Farchi. Peretz was making his 400th appearance in all competitions and 81st in Europe moving to three appearances behind record holder Sheran Yeini.

Within a minute Mishpati was at full stretch to push out Beljo’s powerful right foot drive before collecting another shot by the Zagreb striker in the 66th minute. Two minutes later Lazetic made his fourth substitution of the game adding a fresh pair of legs Sagiv Jehezkel replaced Varela. But in the 72nd minute a Zagreb counter attack left Dejan Ljubicic in acres of space before he picked his spot and curled a right foot shot beyond the reach of Mishpati to score his second on the night and Dinamo’s third. 

Elad Madmon replaced the tired Revivo in the 78th minute as Lazetic made his fifth and final change for the closing stages. Andrade had another shot on goal in the 84th minute but once again the Venezuelan winger couldn’t get his shot on target. In the 88th minute Madmon’s powerful right foot shot threatened to cut the deficit but forced Nevisitic to save before keeping out a Jehezkel shot a minute later.

After kicking off the Europa League phase campaign with a 0-0 draw away to PAOK in Thessaloniki, Maccabi left today (Tuesday) for Serbia ahead of the match against Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb.

A day before the start of Yom Kippur, which will be spent by the team in Serbia, the squad arrived at Ben Gurion Airport from where their flight to the Balkans took off. Tomorrow morning, the team will return the TSC Arena in Backa Topola where they hosted the entire qualifying campaign, hold their pre-match Press Conference followed by the final training session before the first “home” match of the League phase.

Having collected the first point in Greece last week, Maccabi will face Dinamo Zagreb on the back of Sunday’s 0-0 draw away to Bnei Sakhnin.

Dinamo, on the other hand, began their Europa League phase with a 3-1 victory over Fenerbahçe at the Maximir stadium in Zagreb.

Maccabi and Dinamo share some history, as their first encounter took place in the first round of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup. Back then, Maccabi advanced to the next stage on the away goals rule, after drawing 2-2 in Zagreb and a 1-1 draw in the match held in Israel.

“To be honest we didn’t start the game that badly, we created chances we should have converted, his the crossbar and the post. We knew that if we didn’t score by the end of the first half it would be difficult,” Shahar said. “This is a very tough pitch against a team that knows how to stay organized. Unfortunately, we didn’t take advantage of it. Even at the end, there were chances to win the match. A bit of bad luck, but we must lift our heads and move on to the next game.”

Shahar, who was injured in a tackle by Jordan Otanga, who was also sent off, was asked about his condition and said: “Terrible, I can hardly put weight on my foot. It’s part of the game, but I felt it was a bad challenge. It hurt a lot even during the match, but I hope it’ll be okay.”

When asked what made it hard for Maccabi to create a flow of chances, he replied: “I think one of the reasons we struggled to really dominate the field is that with every attack they kept falling on the ground, and we couldn’t get into a rhythm and flowing play. That’s not an excuse though, because we should have scored from the chances we had.”

On whether it was difficult to switch from the match against PAOK Thessaloniki to the one in Doha, he added: “No. At Maccabi we’re used to playing in Europe, and today we had fresh players. We did our maximum to win, we didn’t look back for even a second.”

Finally, when asked about preparing for the upcoming match against Dinamo Zagreb, scheduled right after Yom Kippur, he said: “It’s not an ideal preparation. All of us Israelis will be together in the hotel, and after the fast we’ll go straight to the pitch. But we have a deep squad, with foreigners who don’t fast, and I’m sure they’ll be at peak energy. Of course, it won’t be an excuse, we’re coming to win that game.”

Preview

Maccabi arrived at Doha stadium for the MD5 Winner League match against Bnei Sakhnin aiming to maintain their 100% league record. Having won all four league matches, Zarko Lazetic will try and guide his charges to their fifth victory in succession something which wasn’t achieved since the 93/94 season.

Boosted by Thursday’s 0-0 draw away to PAOK in the Europa League, Maccabi’s coach made several changes to his side. Roi Mishpati, whose man of the match performance at the Toumba stadium helped Maccabi ear a point, kept his place in goal. Heitor returned to the starting line up to partner Ali Camara as the two central defenders in front of Mishpati. Tyrese Asante shook off the shoulder injury he picked in Thessaloniki to keep his place on the right while Denny Gropper replaced the suspended Roy Revivo at left back.

Kristijan Belic was named by Lazetic in the anchorman role with Ido Shahar joining the Belgian born Serbian midfielder in the engine room. Elad Madmon completed the Maccabi midfield trio ahead of Shahar and Belic in a more attacking role. Helio Varela made his debut Maccabi start on the left with Sagiv Jehezkel on the opposite right flank. Dor Peretz, who scored five league goals and seven in all competitions, led the team out with the captain’s armband as well as the spearheading the attack.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Yoav Gerafi, L:azetic named Kervin Andrade, Raz Shlomo, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Issouf Sissokho, Itamar Noy, Saied Abu Farchi and Osher Davida all waiting for their chance to make an impact.

First Half

Backed by 1200 travelling fans, Maccabi started the match determined to score an early goal. Five minutes from the start Elad Madmon spun in the box to lose his defender before unleashing a thunderous shot which rattled the crossbar. Maccabi continued to dominate as a rough Glid Otanga tackle on Ido Shahar just inside Maccabi’s half in the 15th minute earned the Sakhnin midfielder a yellow card. Referee Ohad Asulin was then called by the VAR to the screen before changing his initial decision to cancel the booking and send Otanga off with a red card. Maccabi came close to exploit their numerical advantage as three minutes later Sakhnin’s defense cleared the ball into the path of Helio Varela whose volley from the edge of the area was punched away by goalkeeper Mohamad Abu Nil. A well drilled free kick shortly after almost caught Sakhnin’s defense by surprise as Kristijan Belic received the ball in the box but his shot was blocked by a defender near the goalmouth.

Just before the half hour mark as Maccabi tried furrociosuly to score, Sakhnin survived three threats on goal in one attack. First it was an Ido Shahar shot which struck the post, then Varela had an effort blocked before Heitor’s close range header was saved by Abu Nil’s feet for a corner. A Maccabi counter attack on 34 saw Madmon slip the ball to Varela who cut onto his right but had his effort blocked once again.

Second Half

Lazetic made one change at the restart as he introduced Kervin Andrade for Denny Gropper pushing Varela to left back. As Maccabi didn’t cause any threat on Sakhnin’s goal, Lazetic made his second substitution a minute after the hour mark as Varela was replaced by Osher Davida.

In the 69th minute Roi Mishpati was called into action as Maccabi’s keeper needed to dive and catch Jubayer Bushnak’s half volley. Lazetic was ready to make another double change and introduce Itamar Noy and Saied Abu Farchi for Shahar and Madmon. But a foul of Andrade on Sakhnin’s Ibrahima Drami saw Asulin reach out for his back pocket and pull out the red card. But once again Asulin was called to the screen, reversed his decision and changed Andrade’s red card with a yellow.

Maccabi placed Sakhnin’s goal under siege but none of their efforts actually troubled Abu Nil until deep inside injury time Sagiv Jehezkel sent a cross into the back post. Tyrese Asnate rose high to head the ball but was taken out by the keeper as Asulin didn’t hesitate and awarded a penalty. Abu Nil who was booked earlier for time wasting was shown a yellow card and received his marching orders. With no more substitutions left Iad Abu Abid picked the keepers jersey and stood in goal. But Jehezkel saw his spot kick strike the base of the post to add further drama to thus match.