Hapoel Be'er Sheva Held to 0-0 Draw in Europa League Opener

Hapoel Be'er Sheva began their Europa League campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Dinamo Zagreb, playing their "home" match in Bucharest. The Israeli club, still reeling from a Champions League playoff exit and inconsistent domestic form, had hoped for a strong start in the group stage. Be'er Sheva dominated possession and created several scoring opportunities throughout the match, but failed to convert their chances.

Early in the first half, Amankwaa Forson struck the post in the 25th minute, and moments later, Bruno Gojak cleared the ball off the line before Igor Zlatanović could tap in the rebound. Later, Zahir Ahmed's shot from outside the box forced a save from Dinamo's goalkeeper, Dominik Livaković. The second half saw Be'er Sheva continue their pressure, with Livaković making a crucial save on a header from Zlatanović.

Despite substitutions aimed at sparking an offense, Be'er Sheva could not find the back of the net. The result leaves the team with one point from their opening group stage fixture, a performance considered underwhelming given their control of the game. This result contrasts with a heavy 5-0 loss to the same Dinamo Zagreb side in the 2018 Champions League qualifiers.

The match saw Dinamo Zagreb's Luka Stojković miss an early header, and a concerning landing on the neck by Niv Yehoshua, who later recovered. Be'er Sheva's coach, Ran Kochav, made multiple substitutions in the latter stages of the game in an attempt to break the deadlock, but to no avail.