In a bid to cancel the 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Netanya, Maccabi faced Sudova in Lithuania.

Vladimir Ivic’s side started the match well and enjoyed most of the possession but the hosts took the lead against the run of play in the 12th minute.

Josip Tadic’s shot deflected off Jair Amador to deceive Andreas Giannoitis before Mihret Topcagic nodded home from close range.

Itay Shechter’s effort struck Sudova’s crossbar at the opposite end while Cohen’s free kick hit the post as Maccabi came close to level the score. On the brink of half-time however, the hosts managed to double their lead. Andro Svrljuga’s shot deflected off Dan Glazer’s boot to beat Giannoitis.

Nick Blackman replaced Shechter for the second half and Maccabi continued dominating with Sudova’s keeper Ivan Kardum denying Ivic’s charges with several last gasp saves.

 In the 86th minute Kardum saved Cohen’s initial shot before Blackman pounced on the rebound to slot home and give Maccabi some hope. Inside injury time, Cohen, who had a goal disallowed earlier as he was judged to have handled the ball and was consequently booked, was sent off for a second bookable offense.

Blackman could have leveled the score from close range but managed to scoop his shot over the bar. The full time whistle ended Maccabi’s European campaign with a 4-2 aggregate defeat to the Lithuanians who advanced to the Playoffs.

Maccabi Tel Aviv go into the return leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie with FK Suduva in Lithuania tonight at 20:00 trailing 2-1. In 2015, Maccabi faced Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic in the Champions League third qualifying round in exactly the same situation. Here’s a reminder of what happened in that second leg exactly four years ago.

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.