Hapoel Be'er Sheva Coach Apologizes After Humiliating Loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv

Hapoel Be'er Sheva, the reigning Israeli league champions, suffered a significant 4-1 defeat against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Monday evening, marking the end of the third round of the Premier League season. The team's performance was heavily criticized, prompting coach Ran Kozuch to issue an apology to the fans who came to support them.

"It was a very weak game from us," Kozuch admitted in a post-match interview. "We need to apologize to those who came to support us today. We will make it up to them later. We didn't show up from the start; the first goal was from a simple ball with no coverage, and from there the game fell apart, but I don't think that's a reason to collapse."

When asked if their recent elimination from the Champions League had an impact, Kozuch dismissed the notion. "There's no connection, and if there is, there shouldn't be. What we did there, we did there. Hapoel Be'er Sheva needs to look different, but we shouldn't tie it to Europe. Everyone here would have signed up for the Europa League at the start, we need to be realistic. This is the situation and we will deal with it."

Goalkeeper Ofir Marciano echoed the sentiment of disappointment, stating, "There are games where things don't go as they should. At halftime, we talked about the fact that we are champions, and we are still the champions. We didn't win the championship for nothing, mainly because of our character, and we need to show that. That's what we will rise and fall on, our character and knowing not to lose our heads."

Marciano also reflected on the Champions League exit, calling it a "big miss" and a "scar that will remain with us." However, he emphasized the team's focus on the present and future, aiming to lead the club to better results.