Hapoel Be'er Sheva Suffers Heavy Europa League Defeat

Hapoel Be'er Sheva was defeated 4-0 by Union Saint-Gilloise in their Europa League match in Dusseldorf on Thursday. The Israeli champions remain with only one point from a possible nine in the competition after the loss, which comes ahead of a significant domestic match against Maccabi Haifa.

Coach Ran Kochav described the result as "very disappointing." He noted that while his team was the better side in the first half, they failed to capitalize on numerous chances and went into halftime trailing. "In the second half, we fell apart physically," Kochav stated, adding that the team was dragged into the opponent's tempo and that substitutions did not provide the needed intensity. He emphasized the need to score in such matches, improve the final pass, and focus on physical conditioning, acknowledging challenges but refusing to offer them as excuses.

Goalkeeper Ofir Marciano echoed the coach's sentiments, calling the result "bad" and acknowledging that the team did many things well in the first half. He felt the team showed improvement compared to a previous match against Alkmaar but stressed the need to find solutions against challenging opponents. Marciano admitted the second half performance was unacceptable, stating the team needed to be more aggressive. He added that the team must match the intensity and mentality of their high-level opponents to improve.

Marciano expressed his commitment to bringing his experience and ability to each game, recognizing that success varies. He acknowledged that the team knew the campaign would be difficult with many tough games and challenges, and that they wouldn't win every match. The goalkeeper highlighted the quick turnaround between games as an advantage, allowing them to focus on the next match and hoping for a much better performance and result.