Hapoel Be'er Sheva Suffers Disappointing Loss in Europa League, Faces League Challenge

Hapoel Be'er Sheva experienced a significant disappointment on Thursday, falling 2-0 to Greece's OFI Crete in their Europa League match. The team's performance was deemed insufficient, leading to frustration within the club. "We are paying tuition fees and conceding goals we shouldn't," stated sources within the club, adding that "we weren't precise in the final pass or in our actions within the box. We lacked quality, and this is another loss and a disappointing performance in Europe."

Coach Ran Kozuch's lineup for the match was reportedly influenced by preparations for an upcoming league game against Hapoel Tel Aviv on Sunday. While this strategy allowed players like Igor Zlatanovic, Amir Ganah, Javon East, Miguel Vítor, and Pedro Amador to be rested or available for Sunday, it highlighted the absence of Eliel Peretz and Lucas Natura. Amanqua Forson and Niv Yehoshua appeared fatigued, delivering subpar performances, and currently lack direct replacements, indicating they will likely start on Sunday as well.

Adding to the team's concerns is the situation with Itai Rotman, who has been excluded from the squad for the last two games for professional reasons. Rotman, who was a surprising performer in Be'er Sheva until an injury, has seemingly lost his place in the rotation. "Every player in the squad needs to perform better than they did in this game. The way we played was very disappointing," concluded those close to the team.

Looking ahead to the match against Eliniv Brada's team, Kozuch may consider a tactical shift, potentially moving to a five-man defense as a surprise for the upcoming league fixture.