The play-offs are a moment where a team’s future is decided, and in the Europa Conference League these doubled-legged ties will end with either a spot in the group stage, or being knocked out of Europe.
One of these teams is Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The Israeli side has already had some great moments at home in European competitions in the past - they’ve played twice in the Champions League play-offs, making it within one goal of reaching the group stage. They’ve hosted some of the biggest names, too, and shocked them.
This year, their home match against Universitatea Craiova could produce another moment of joy for the home fans. The first leg ended 1-1 draw, making the second crucial.
Hapoel Be’er Sheva fans in a European night (Shaul Greenfeld)
For 90 minutes the tensions were high. Both teams were looking to score, but were unable to do so - extra time was on the cards.
Usually, one goal is enough to break your opponents. After 105 minutes, Ante Roguljić hit a strong and accurate free kick into the net. An important goal for the Romanians, they thought they had made it.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. One minutes later, Shapi Suleymanov, on his debut for the Israelis, took the ball for a free kick. Tomer Hemed jumped and headed in the goal. A shootout beckoned.
In the last three months, Hapoel has had a lot of practice at penalties. They won both the Israeli Cup final and the domestic Super Cup as a result of a tremendous show from keeper Omri Glazer - he stopped five of the 10 penalties he faced in those games.
And Glazer was the man to trust again tonight, saving a decisive penalty kick from Nicusor Bacu, tipping the ball over the bar.
Omri Glazer, the penalties hero of Hapoel Be’er Sheva (Shaul Greenfeld)
It was a long night in Be’er Sheva, and it’s ended with Hapoel’s first ever appearance in the Conference League group stage. It really was a night to remember.
Edited by Alex Smith
All photos by Shaul Greenfeld
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