Preview:
Maccabi returned to Batumi for the Conference League Playoff return leg against FC Lugano with a one goal deficit thanks to last week’s 2-1 defeat in Switzerland. Boosted by Sunday’s emphatic 5-2 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem in the league, Kenny Miller’s side know that they require a victory by a two goal margin in order to qualify. Maccabi’s Scottish Head Coach who was a top striker during his playing career, will seek to guide his side and secure a place in the Conference League phase draw which takes place in Monaco on Friday. But will have to manage without 20-year-old striker Saied Abu Farchi who travelled to the US ahead of a move to the MLS.

Ofek Melika who was sent off during Sunday’s match and was replaced in goal by Abu Farchi, kept his place in goal. Ali Camara and Raz Shlomo lined up as the two central defenders in front of Melika while Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s defensive line. Issouf Sissokho returned to the anchorman role with Ido Shahar who scored Maccabi’s goal in Switzerland joining the Malian midfielder in Maccabi’s engine room. Dor Peretz, will try and continue his goalscoring form as his hattrick against Hapoel Jerusalem took his tally to six goals in all competitions this season. On the wings, Miller named Helio Varela and Osher Davida while Slovenian striker Ester Sokler led the line.
On the bench alongside goalkeepers Roi Mishpati and Shalev Saadya, Miller named Dan Glazer, Elad Madmon, Noam Ben Harosh, Shahar Rosen, Itamar Noy, Hisham Layous, Itai Ben Hamo, Lotem Asras and Ilay Ben Simon

First half:
Around 700 Maccabi fans arrived at the Batumi arena and gave the players the vocal support right from the warm-up.
Eight minutes from the start Maccabi came close as Tyrese Asante made the overlap run to receive the ball from Osher Davida before floating a cross which was cleared by Lugano’s defense. The visitors looked dangerous ad almost took advantage as Ido Shahar was stripped of the ball seep inside Maccabi territory. But Issouf Sissokho kept his composure and gain control before clearing the danger. Maccabi’s first attempt on goal was in the 24th minute as Dor Peretz tried his luck with a dipping half volley from the edge of the area but Lugano’s keeper David von Ballmoos collected with ease. Three minutes later Helio Varela was released down the left before he was brought down Yanis Papadopoulos who was consequently booked. Shahar’s free kick was palmed away by von Ballmoos before appearing to strike the arm of a Lugano defender as French referee Jeremie Pignard awarded Maccabi a penalty. Maccabi’s hopes of a penalty which could have leveled the aggregate score were quashed by VAR that called Pignard to the screen and the spot kick was cancelled. Five minutes after the half hour mark Varela managed to intercept a header which was directed at von Ballmoos to find himself clear in the box, but the Cape Verde winger opted to try and pass to a teammate instead of shooting on target allowing Lugano’s defense to clear. A minute later Mattia Zanotti was also shown a yellow card for a foul on Roy Revivo who found himself in a great position to score on 42. But the left-back who was unmarked at the far post, couldn’t get enough power on his header as he met Davida’s cross. With no goals scored and the aggrehate score still set on 2-1 in favor of Lugano, the halftime whistle sent both teams into the dressing rooms to recover before the second period and fourth quarter of this tie.

Second half:
Neither side made a change ahead of the second half but it was the visitors who came closest to open the scoring six minutes after the restart. A Lugano corner reached Papadopoulos who directed his header on target but Ofek Melika reacted well to save. In the 57th minute Ester Sokler had his first attempt on target as he flicked Varela’s cross von Ballooms collected once again. A minute later Lugano were reduced to 10 men as Zanotti was shown a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Ali Camara.

Four minutes after the hour mark Varela charged down the left and was brought down near the touchline. Shahar floated the cross into the danger zone and found Peretz but the captain who rose high at the far post guided his header wide. In an attempt to try exploit the numerical advantage, Miller made a double substitution as Asante and Sokler bowed out and were repalced by Noam Ben Harosh and Elad Madmon on 65. Three minutes after his introduction Madmon broke into the box and was fouled by Lugano’s captain Renato Steffen. Maccabi’s captain, Peretz, stepped up, kept his calm and buried the penalty passed von Ballooms to put his side in front and level the tie at 2-2.

In the 76th minute Maccabi stretched Lugano’s defense and almost doubled their lead as Ben Harosh whipped a dangerous cross into the box. But Shahar who found himself at the end of that cross, guided his header wide. While Maccabi kept pressing Lugano back to their goal, the visitors managed to hit them on the break on 79. Dereck Moncada put pressure on Ben Harosh who tripped before the Honduran winger raced half the length of the pitch and blasted a shot that sailed into Melika’s top corner to level the score on the night and give Lugano a 3-2 aggregate lead. Miller reacted as he made another substitution introducing Hisham Layous for Shahar for the final nine minutes. Peretz had a shot which went wide on 83 while Revivo had a header saved by the keeper a minute later.

Moncada almost completed their comeback with Moncada racing clear through on 89 but his effort rolled wide. Inside injury time Raz Shlomo’s last gasp tackle kdenied Lugano a goal which would have ended the contest.

Davida had a shot saved by Lugano’s keeper as the full time whistle confirmed that Maccabi’s European campaign is over.

Preview:

Maccabi arrived at the new stadium in Rehovot for the WINNER league curtain raiser away to Hapoel Jerusalem which was relocated from Teddy stadium due to the condition of the pitch. Three days after the first leg of the Conference League Play-Off in Lugano and four days before the return leg in Batumi, Kenny Miller and his charges put aside their European aspirations in favor of the domestic campaign.

Miller made a couple of changes in defense from the side which lost 2-1 at Lugano as Itai Ben Hamo and Noam Ben Harosh replaced Ali Camara and Tyrese Asante at the heart and on the right side of defense. Raz Shlomo partnered Ben Hamo as the second central defender while Roy Revivo returned to the side after serving his one-match touchline ban following the red card he received in the Super Cup. Itamar Noy was named as the anchorman in Maccabi’s engine room together with Ido Shahar who scored the goal in Lugano and captain Dor Peretz.

On the wings Miller named Osher Davida and Helio Varela to supply the width and hopefully the ammunition for Ester Sokler. The Slovenian striker made his Maccabi league debut upfront and after scoring against CSKA Sofia, Sokler will aim to open his domestic account as well.

On the bench alongside Camara and Asante, Miller named goalkeeper Roi Mishpati, as well as Dan Glazer, Ori Azo, Issouf Sissokho, Hisham Layous, Saied Abu Farchi and Ilay Ben Simon.

First half:

A sold out Rehovot stadium packed to its’ 5000 capacity supplied a perfect backdrop for the opening league match of the 2026/27 season. But Maccabi couldn’t have wished for a worse start to the match and campaign as they found themselves a goal behind with less than a minute on the clock. Shortly after referee Gal Levy got the match underway, Hapoel Jerusalem launched men forward. What seemed like a harmless ball which was pushed to Vitalie Damascan, saw the Jerusalem striker turn and snap a shot which beat Ofek Melika after 37 seconds.

It took Maccabi 20 minutes to bounce back from the early goal before creating the first chance. A Noam Ben Harosh cross into the box was brought down by Ido Shahar whose attempt of a half volley cleared the crossbar. Three minutes later a Shahar square ball across the face of goal was cleared for a corner. Jerusalem’s defense failed to clear the resulting corner and Osher Davida floated a cross into the danger zone. Roy Revivo whose last goal for Maccabi was the winner in the State Cup Final last season rose above the hosts’ defense to nod in Davida’s cross and restore parity.

Four minutes after the half hour mark Dor Peretz exchanged passes to carve Jerusalem’s defense open and break into the box before picking Helio Varela. The Cape Verde winger was left unmarked in a glorious position to score but he blasted his right foot shot high over the crossbar. In the 38^th minute Itamar Noy released Peretz through but as Maccabi’s captain charged towards goal, he was charged down by a Noam Melamoud challenge. In the 41st minute Davida tried his luck with a low drive from just outside the box which Nadav Zamir needed two attempts to catch. A foul on Varela near the corner of the area on 42 saw Levy award Maccabi a free kick. Revivo crossed the free kick which Peretz headed onto the crossbar before Ester Sokler pounced on the rebound but was fouled by Melamoud. Levy didn’t hesitate as he awarded Maccabi a penalty on the stroke of halftime. Peretz stepped up, sent Zamir the wrong way and successfully converted the spot kick to put Maccabi in front.

Second half:

Kenny Miller made no changes after the restart while his Jerusalem counterpart Lior Zada made two substitutions introducing Ilay Madmon and Ohad Almagor. Miller was preparing to make a double change of his own and add fresh pair of legs int the pitch, Varela had his own idea. Three minutes after the hour mark, Varela picked the ball on the edge of Maccabi’s penalty box and used his pace to charge for more than 80 meters. Varela then squared to Peretz who slid in to score his second and Maccabi’s third. The Cape Verde winger landed awkwardly and limped off as Miller made a triple substitution with Shahar and Sokler also coming off while Dan Glazer, Hisham Layous and Saied Abu Farchi all stepping in. In the 67th minute both substitutes combined as Jerusalem’s defense failed to clear the danger before Layous dribbled into the box and cut the ball for Abu Farchi who clipped it over Zamir to score the fourth. Maccabi’s blitz continued in the 71st minute as Davida found Ben Harosh deep inside Jerusalem’s box before the right back picked Peretz who slotted in the fifth to complete the first hattrick of his career. Raz Shlomo made way for Ali Camara and four minutes later Peretz was given a standing ovation as he was replaced by Ilay Ben Simon.

Maccabi’s celebrations were dampened on 76 as Melika charged out of his penalty area before fouling Jerusalem’s Nadim Warasna who was clear through. Levy reached out to his back pocket to show Melika the red card and leave Maccabi with 10 with the young keeper set to miss next week’s league match against Maccabi Haifa. As Miller completed his five substitutions, Abu Farchi volunteered and put on the pink jersey to go in goal for the closing stages. With every touch he made, Abu Farchi was cheered by the 2800 traveling fans. But inside injury time, the young forward’s attempt of keeping a clean sheet, were deemed unsuccessful. Jerusalem cut the deficit as Almagor curled in a free kick which proved too accurate and powerful for Abu Farchi to save. Levy’s full-time whistle saw Macabi celebrate the three points as attention now turns to Thursday’s Conference League Playoff return leg against Lugano in Batumi before returning to face Maccabi Haifa next Monday.