Maccabi Tel Aviv’s midfielder Dor Micha spoke at the pre-match media conference in Lithuania ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League third qualifying round second leg tie against hosts FK Suduva. Maccabi trail 2-1 after losing at home last week to the Lithuanian champions.

He said the players would have to be at their very best and it was time to show their class: “We all understand what this game means for the players and for the entire club. We really want this win. We are facing 90 crucial minutes and we will have to leave it all out there on the pitch tomorrow if we want to.”

“We will have to avoid making the mistakes that we committed in recent weeks. We have had a week to go through what we did wrong and learn from those mistakes and we will have to play our natural game.”

“We have belief in our ability. I have faced even more difficult situations during my career. It starts with belief and then bringing our ability to the fore and we will have to do it from the kickoff.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Vladimir Ivic said at the media conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League third round, second leg clash against FK Suduva in Lithuania that he has faith in his players to deliver the result to get to the playoff round: “We will have to give of our best to get through… we came here to play our best and win,” he said. Watch here.

Maccabi Tel Aviv are en route to Lithuania for tomorrow night’s Europa League third qualifying round second leg tie against FK Suduva which will be held at their stadium in Marijampole, kickoff 20:00. Maccabi trail 2-1 after last week’s first leg in Netanya and must win by at least two clear goals in order to advance to the next stage. 

The team flew to Kaunas on Wednesday from where they will travel by road to Marijampole, a drive of under two hours to the southwest of the Baltic state. They will hold a final training session at the hour of the game tonight and this will be preceded by a media conference.

Updates and photos will be available throughout the day on the web site, the app and the club’s social media platforms.

In the event that Maccabi manage to overhaul the first leg deficit, their next opponents will be Hungary’s Ferencvaros, who were thrashed 4-0 on Tuesday by Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League qualifying round play and lost 5-1 on aggregate. If Maccabi win through, they will meet the Hungarian side for the second time within a year. Maccabi drew 1-1 away and beat the Hungarians 1-0 at home in last season’s Europa League first qualifying round.

The second day of season ticket sales to FOREVER supporters club members opened on Monday and Maccabi Tel Aviv FC CEO Ben Mansford visited the club’s customer service desk at Heichal Menora at Yad Eliahu, the home of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s basketball club. He met new season ticket holders and commented on the club’s situation on the eve of the 2019-2020 season.

A disappointed Shahar Piven answered questions about Maccabi’s 2-1 defeat and said that while the team is disappointed in its performance and the result, lessons will be learned and Maccabi must improve for the return leg in Lithuania next Thursday.

Shahar Piven: “It’s difficult to argue with the facts and I agree that we looked very poor. It’s almost certainly our worst European game this season and as far as I recall, last season too. This match has passed, we must look ahead as sportsmen and as footballers who have endured tough situations.”

“We must look ahead analyse what happened in words and on screen and move forward, we must not dwell on the past.”

Q: The coach spoke about a lack of hunger among the players and poor discipline, particularly after the first goal, this is not the Maccabi we expect to see. Do you feel the players are not eager enough?

A: I can’t argue with what the coach said. If he said this, then he knows what he is talking about and perhaps we did have less hunger. I felt we all tried our best during the game but something didn’t work as it should. We lost the ball far too much and when you concede goals from set pieces, you have to pick yourself up because in European play, these are always very dangerous situations and they often determine the outcome. We probably won’t advance if we don’t improve our play but I do have faith that we can overcome this because we are a better team than Suduva. In the same way that they scored two goals here, I am certain that we can also score two goals in Lithuania but most important will be not to concede any more goals.”

Q: Four out of the last five goals you conceded came from set plays, the coach has also said that you have been training for this, so as a defender, what is the problem?

A:  We are working on this all the time and view video footage, he explains things to us and we train for it, but perhaps it’s a matter of poor luck. Opposing players got the ball and managed to score. This didn’t happen last season. We are measured when things aren’t going well. Last season we were happy and things were going well but now, the leaders among us will have to guide us forward to boost our morale and go confidently into the next game.”

Q: Why do things look different in training compared to play?

A: We have only just begun our training, we had two very tough training camps but our opponents are already in mid-season and they are in top form but this is not an excuse. We do try our hardest in training and on the pitch and although we are not playing well, we must do our best to win, otherwise our European season will be over sooner than expected.

Q: The crowd was not happy today and they even booed, not something we have seen for a long time, what do you think of their expectations of you?

A: Maccabi’s crowd are great, they always expect us to win trophies and succeed in Europe, whether the Europa League or the Champions League. I can’t fault them for their expectations, they support us also in tough times and they give us strength. It is us, the team, who must deliver to make them happy and we must improve.

Q: What do you think of your coordination with your new goalkeeper?

A: I don’t think the fact that we have conceded four goals is a true reflection of our situation, not only the defensive unit, but the entire team are not at their best. Last season our defence was the strong part of our team but at the moment that’s not the case. You can’t win any games if you concede goals so easily. It all begins and ends with the defenders. I don’t have any complaints for anybody, our new goalkeeper is excellent and the four defenders have been trying their best but it’s up to the entire team to work to prevent goals going in at our end and we must learn from our mistakes.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv conceded two away goals and managed to score only once despite several chances in their Europa League third qualifying round first leg clash against FK Suduva of Lithuania in Netanya on Thursday.

Maccabi looked the stronger of the two sides in the first half and had the vast majority of attacking play but had nothing to show for their efforts, as time and again a final pass failed to find a man in space, or the handful of long-range efforts went high or wide of the target.

The hosts paid the penalty for their lack of accuracy in the 37^th minute when defender Samir Kerala latched on to a long curling cross from the left byline by Ovidijus Verbikas and headed home powerfully from the right corner of the box  as he shrugged off his marker, Shahar Piven. The diagonal diving strike towards Maccabi’s left upright was out of reach for goalkeeper Andreas Gianniotis.

Chikeluba Ofuedo came on as substitute at halftime in place of Etey Shechter and injected additional pace into the Maccabi attack, but the home team’s accuracy was still lacking and Suduva’s bolstered defence managed to cut out any dangerous moves before they became a threat to their goal. 

Dor Peretz earned a yellow card for tripping up Suduva’s  Paulus Golubickas in the 63^rd minute and the break in play was an opportunity for coach Vladimir Ivic to send on Eliran Atar in place of Nick Blackman in an effort to level the scores, although in the meantime, Suduva were holding their own admirably in Netanya’s warm, humid air.

Maccabi were further undone in the 76th minute when Suduva scored a second, crucial away goal as Algis Jankauskas struck from the right side of the area by latching on to a corner and the home crowd were silenced.

Ofuedo finally put the home team on the scoresheet in the 84^th minute when he latched on to a cross from Yonatan Cohen on the left and side-footed the ball into the net, there was some momentum thereafter from the home team but Suduva kept a tight lid on their defending and Maccabi’s poor night continued and they were unable to make any further impression until Irish referee Neil Doyle blew the final whistle after four additional minutes of play.

Maccabi lacked several players through injury, including Sheran Yeini, who remained on the bench. The return leg will be played in Lithuania next Thursday.

Maccabi Tel Aviv lost 2-1 to FK Suduva of Lithuania in their Europa League third qualifying round first leg tie in Netanya but despite the result, stalwart midfielder Dor Micha is not giving up. He summed up his feelings ahead of next week’s return leg in Lithuania.

“This was a bad game for us,” Micha admitted. “Things that went easily for us last season are not going as smoothly at the moment. We do not look good enough but we will need to pick ourselves up and we must go there with the belief that we can do it,” said Micha, who wore the captain’s armband for the encounter.

Set piece goals:

“It is unacceptable to concede two goals at home. In European competition small mistakes are punished severely,” Micha said. “Both the goals that we let in began from corners. One was because of me. I should have put the ball out (for another corner) and this is the price we have paid. We will have to pick ourselves up.”

He added: “I can’t blame anybody for not trying their hardest or wanting to win, but we must recognize the reality that we are facing that we are just not good enough at the moment. I am also part of the team and I am also not at my best, I’m still not in as good form as I would want to be, but I’m not thinking about it any more. We just have to regroup and travel in the belief that we can advance. I think we are a better side (than Suduva) and it’s possible.”