Dor Peretz scored to give Maccabi an early lead but Bodo/Glimt hit back with three goals to inflict a 3-1 defeat.

At the end of the match Peretz said: “This was the most important thing. It was a gesture for Emily. I have seen that smile when she returned. It’s a moment of joy as Maccabi players knowing that she would be back supporting us soon. Obviously we don’t forget the rest of the hostages and are waiting for all of them to return amongst them our fans. When all of them will return we will be super happy.”

On the difficult conditions Maccabi were facing on the night against a quality Bodo/Glimt side Peretz said: “There is no doubt they are a quality well trained team. he weather and the pitch are conditions we are normally not used to but this is not an excuse. They were better than us and deserved to win”

Preview

Maccabi arrived at the Aspmyra stadium ahead of the EUROPA League MD7 encounter with Norwegian Champions Bodo/Glimt aiming to keep their qualification aspirations in tact. Two victories in the last two matches against Turkish side Besiktas and Latvia’s RFS took Maccabi’s point tally to six points from the first six league matches.

Zarko Lazetic was missing injured duo Gabi Kanichowsky and Sagiv Jehezkel and Weslley Patati who is serving a one-match-touchline ban made several changes from the last match.

Roi Mishpati kept his place in goal with Idan Nachmias and Nemanja Stojic as the two central defenders in front of him. Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s defensive back-line. Joris van Overeem and Issouf Sisspko were named by Lazetic in Maccabi’s engine room with Dor Peretz completing the midfield trio with the captain’s armband. Hisham Layous on one wing and Osher Davida on the opposite flank supplied the width to Maccabi’s formation in support of Dor Turgeman who led the line.

On the bench, Lazetic named Simon Sluga and Shalev Saadya, Stav Lemkin, Eran Zahavi, Raz Shlomo, Elad Madmon, Henry Addo, Ofir Davidzada, Ido Shahar, Idan Weinbrg, Roey Magor.

First Half

After a nervous start which saw Maccabi get used to the artificial pitch and the sub zero weather conditions, Zarko Lazetic’s side took the lead in their first ever chance. Issouf Sissokho burst forward in the 12th minute and picked Dor Turgeman on the edge of Bodo/Glimt’s area. The young forward slipped the ball to Dor Peretz who kept his calm and drilled his shot past Nikita Haikin to put Maccabi infront. In the 23rd minute the crossbar rescued Roi Mishpati from conceding after Isak Dybvik Määttä met Patrick Berg’s cross with a powerful header which rattled the woodwork.

In the 39th minute Osher Davida was penalised for a foul on Fredrik Andre Bjorkan near the corner and was consequently booked. Berg whipped in the resulting free kick and found Kasper Høgh who nodded home the equalizer at the far post to level the score. Turgeman required medical treatment on 44 but w as back on the pitch before the fourth official signalled for 2 minutes of added time. Nemanja Stojic was also cautioned by Spanish referee Rocardo de Burgos for a mistimed tackle on Määttä right on the halfway line. That was the final action of the first half as the halftime whistle sent both teams to warm up in the dressing rooms during the interval.

Second Half

With no changes at the restart Bodo/Glimt continued to look dangerous as Bjørkan was booked for a foul on Joris van Overeem in the 55th minute. Two minutes later van Overeem released Turgeman with a perfect through ball but Bodo/Glimt’s defense managed to recover.

A minute after the hour mark the hosts completed their comeback as Jostein Gunderson tore through the middle of Maccabi’s defense before slipping the ball to Hakon Evjen who blasted last Misphati. Jens Petter Hauge who was introduced as substitute made an immediate impact as his cross struck the hand of Tyrese Asante. The referee pointed at the spot and Høgh rolled the penalty beyond Mishpati’s reach to increase Bodo’s lead to 3-1. Lazetic made a double change on 78 as Henry Addo came on for Davida while Elad Madmon replaced Turheman. A last gasp Van Overeem tackle on Maccabi’s goalmouth saw the Dutch born midfielder fling himself across the goal to block Bodo from scoring a fourth on 83.

Dor Peretz will be making his 71^st appearance for Maccabi in Europe when he leads the team out at the Aspmyra stadium in northern Norway. The 29-year-old Maccabi midfielder faced the local media ahead of Thursday’s EUROPA League MD7 against Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt. With Maccabi currently ranked 27^th with six points, Maccabi need a result to keep qualification hopes alive: “I think this match is extremely important for us as we want to qualify for the next round” Peretz said, “We are preparing for the formation, the players and our opponents’ style of play. We know how they play. But with aggressiveness, quality, and the players we have we could achieve our target tomorrow.”

After a long flight from Tel Aviv the team landed in Norway and were welcomed by temperatures that dropped to -8 which would be similar during the match. As well as the sub-zero temperature, Bodo/Glimt’s Aspmyra stadium has an artificial pitch, as Peretz reflected: “It is true we are not used to play at such a temperature or on an artificial surface but nothing would be used as an excuse. We need to do our best, play our game and trust ourselves.”

When asked on representing Israel in Europe in view of the current situation, Peretz replied: “At the end of the day we are coming to play football. We are focusing only on that as we are all here to try and achieve our target in tomorrow’s match which is the most important thing for us.”

    

 

Norwegian Champions Bodo/Glimt host Maccabi for the EUROPA League MD7 at the Aspmyra stadium in north Norway.

Similar to previous European matches this season, Maccabi, held their final practice session at Kiryat Shalom training complex before departing for Ben Gurion Airport.

Zarko Lazetic’s side that have 6 points from the opening six matches will face sub zero condition with temperatures expected to drop to -7.