The third stage of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. Without Tjaronn Chery but with Dia Saba, Maccabi Haifa took an important step towards the next stage with a 2:1 victory over Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia.
"The captain and star of the greens, Tjaronn Chery, who scored the equalizing goal last week, did not join the team due to the birth of his third son. His place in the lineup was taken by Jaber. Cornud, who recovered from illness last week, also returned to the starting eleven."
Course of the game
Haifa was superior from the start of the game and already in the 5th minute a breakthrough by Cornud from the left wing found Khalaili who put a ball into the box and Piero kicked from close range a justified 1:0.
Five minutes later, a corner by the Slovaks found the head of Goldberg who hit back, the ball hit Sik and went in 1:1 from an own goal.
Another 2 minutes pass and in the 15th minute Cornud passes the ball to Saba outside the area and from the middle sends an accurate ball to the corner and scores 2:1.
Haziza and Piero missed favorable situations, and a penalty awarded in favor of Maccabi Haifa was disallowed because of Piero's hand contact. At the end of the half the score remained at 2:1.
Next week against a full Sami Ofer, with the heat and humidity of Haifa in the summer, Maccabi Haifa should pass the Slovaks on the way to a meeting with Young Boys in the playoff phase. A victory will secure Maccabi Haifa's second appearance in the UEFA Champions League, while a loss will lead them to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.
