Hapoel Beersheba will play their first leg at Celtic in about 6 hours. I don't know why, but Beitar Jerusalem's Europa League Playoff Round first leg hosting St. Etienne will be at 12:00 P.M. USA Eastern (2 hours 45 minutes before the Champions League Playoff Round starts) instead of tomorrow. Maccabi Tel Aviv's Europa League Playoff Round first leg hosting Hajduk Split will be at 1:00 P.M. USA Eastern tomorrow. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sp...r-1st-leg-of-playoff-clash-with-Celtic-464298 is titled "Hapoel Beersheba visits Scotland for 1st leg of playoff clash with Celtic."
Beitar Jerusalem 1:2 St. Etienne All the goals were in the first half. Beitar Jerusalem scored first. Beitar Jerusalem had 55 percent of the possession. St. Etienne had more shots on target 6 to 3. Each club got 1 yellow card and there weren't any red cards.
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2:1 Hajduk Split The aggregate could go either way after a home win by 1 for Maccabi Tel Aviv, who dominated many of the statistics. Maccabi Tel Aviv had 63 percent of the possession, more shots (15 to 3), more shots on target (7 to 2), and more corner kicks (13 to 2). Each club got 3 yellow cards and no red cards. Next Thursday's start times are 2:30 P.M. USA Eastern for Hajduk Split hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv and 2:45 P.M. USA Eastern for St. Etienne hosting Beitar Jerusalem. Israel was tied for 24th in the country coefficients after Tuesday's games, and it will be hard for Israel to move up. The two country above them, Poland and Scotland, have one club left, but both Legia Warsaw and Celtic are likely to get 4 Bonus Points for reaching the Champions League Group Stage. Legia Warsaw got an easy draw against Dundalk of Ireland, and Legia Warsaw won the first leg 2:0 in Ireland.
apparently these folks are not exactly the brightest bulbs on the planet... http://www.scotsman.com/sport/footb...nished-by-uefa-over-palestine-flags-1-4207728
Hapoel Be'er Sheva scored in the 21st and 48th minutes to win 2:0, but they lost the aggregate 5:4. Hapoel Be'er Sheva will go to the Europa League Group Stage.
St. Etienne 0:0 Beitar Jerusalem St. Etienne had a straight red card in the 45th minute, but Beitar Jerusalem could not take advantage and St. Etienne won the aggregate 2:1. Hajduk Split 2:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv (Maccabi Tel Aviv won penalty kicks) Combining the two legs, Maccabi Tel Aviv blew aggregate leads of 1:0, 2:1, and 3:2. It was 3:3 after regulation and extra time. Both clubs scored on their first penalty kick, failed on their second and third kicks, and scored on their fourth and fifth kicks. Marko Cosic scored both of Hajduk Split's goals today but failed on Hajduk Split's sixth penalty kick. Avi Rikan scored to make Maccabi Tel Aviv win penalty kicks 4:3. Excluding penalty kicks, Maccabi Tel Aviv had 60 percent of the possession, more free kicks (26 to 21) and more corner kicks (9 to 6). Hajduk Split had more shots on target (5 to 3) and fewer yellow cards (4 to 1). Nobody was ejected. Hajduk Split made their second substitution in the 69th minute and I'm shocked that they didn't make a third substitution in extra time.
In the Europa League Group Stage draw, both Israeli clubs got drawn with the club with the lowest coefficient they could have been drawn with: Group D: Zenit St. Petersburg (second best coefficient in Pot 1) AZ Alkmaar (best coefficient in Pot 2) Maccabi Tel Aviv (seventh best coefficient in Pot 3) Dundalk (lowest coefficient of the 80 clubs in the Champions League or Europa League) Group K: Internazionale also known as Inter Milan (ninth best coefficient in Pot 1) Sparta Prague (sixth best coefficient in Pot 2) Southampton (lowest coefficient in Pot 3) Hapoel Be'er Sheva (second lowest coefficient of the 80 clubs in the Champions League or Europa League)
interesting draws for maccabi TLV and be'er sheva, i feel they can do israel proud this year in europe. I am already really pleased with how our teams have coped so far, Beitar gave it a real go and went out with their heads held high, be'er sheva showed they werent naive pushovers and should hold their own in their group, i feel that the heat and the fortress that is the turner stadium will prove tough for the travelling teams. Maccabi tel aviv are really proving themselves to be european regulars, but it is a shame that they will have to wait a few years until they get their new stadium, what is the proposed capacity 29,000?? i am not a massive fan of the netanya stadium really. What are your guys predictions for these 2 teams in the group stages? i have hopes that maccabi will get into the last 32, they MUST get a new left back though, Ben harush is simply not maccabi class.
Most of the Europa League games are not on TV in the USA, but I'm hoping a Fox Sports channel will show Hapoel Be'er Sheva when they play Southhampton on 29 September and 8 December. Maccabi Tel Aviv will be at Zenit St. Petersburg on 24 November, and I'm hoping it will be on TV because it will be at 11:00 A.M. USA Eastern because it's in Russia. There will be little to no other Europa League games at that time.
On Thursday 15 September, Maccabi Tel Aviv will host Zenit St. Petersburg at 1:00 P.M. USA Eastern in a game that will not be on TV in the USA. At 3:05 P.M. USA Eastern that day, Hapoel Be'er Sheva will play at Internazionale (Inter Milan) on Fox Soccer Plus.
The away club won both games involving Israeli clubs. Maccabi Tel Aviv scored in the 70th minute to go up 3:0. While up 3:1, they had a player ejected, and Zenit St. Petersburg scored the final goal in stoppage time to win 4:3. Hapoel Be'er Sheva won 2:0 at Inter Milan. Inter Milan had 64 percent of the possession and 68 percent of the completed passes, but they got only 3 of their 21 shots on target. They had 9 shots blocked and 9 shots missed. Hapoel Be'er Sheva had 6 shots on target. I'm not going to try to look this up, but I wonder if an Israeli club has ever won at a former Champions League winner. The probabilities based on the Bet365 odds were: Inter Milan: 65.2 percent Draw: 21.7 percent Hapoel Be'er Sheva win: 13 percent It adds up to 99.9 percent due to rounding.
Incredible day for Israeli football with one of the greatest ever wins on the same day as one of what is sure to becomes one of the most infamous losses. Question for anyone who watched the Maccabi game (more closely than I did). What led to the indirect free kick 7 meters from goal that led to Zenit's second goal? I was half paying attention and saw the goal but didn't see the call that led to it.
Neither Israel club scored today. Hapoel Be'er Sheva got a scoreless draw hosting Southampton of England. The statistics were close, with Hapoel Be'er Sheva having 52 percent of the possession and the clubs having 3 shots on target each. Maccabi Tel Aviv lost 1:0 at Dundalk of Ireland. Maccabi Tel Aviv had 65 percent of the possession but got only 1 shot on target. Dundalk had 4 shots on target, and their goal was in the 72nd minute by Ciaran Kilduff, who was subbed on in the 64th minute. The Bet365 odds gave Maccabi Tel Aviv a 53.2 percent chance at winning and Dundalk a 21.2 percent chance at winning.
The away team won in both Europa League games with Israeli clubs. In Group K: Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0:1 Sparta Prague Hapoel Be'er Sheva dominated many of the statistics. Their three shots on goal were saved, and Sparta Prague scored in the 71st minute with their only shot on goal. Inter Milan 1:0 Southmapton was the other game in the group. The standings through 3 out of 6 games are: Sparta Prague: 6 points, +0 Southampton: 4 points, +2 Hapoel Be'er Sheva: 4 points, +1 Inter Milan: 3 points, -3 In Group D: AZ Alkmaar 1:2 Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv took the lead in the 24th minute, AZ Alkmaar equalized in the 72nd minute, and Maccabi Tel Aviv scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute. Dundalk 1:2 Zenit St. petersburg was the other game in the group. The standings through 3 out of 6 games are: Zenit St. Petersburg: 9 points, +7 Dundalk: 4 points, +0 Maccabi Tel Aviv: 3 points, -1 AZ Alkmaar: 1 point, -6
In Group D, Maccabi Tel Aviv hosted AZ Alkmaar and nobody scored. The standings are: Zenit St. Petersburg: 12 points, +8 Dundalk: 4 points, -1 Maccabi Tel Aviv: 4 points, -1 AZ Alkmaar: 2 point, -6 The remaining games are: Matchday 5: Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv Dundalk vs. AZ Alkmaar Matchday 6: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Dundalk AZ Alkmaar vs. Zenit St. Petersburg Dundalk could move 3 points ahead of Maccabi Tel Aviv on Matchday 5, but if Maccabi Tel Aviv wins by at least 2 goals hosting Dundalk, Maccabi Tel Aviv would win the head-to-head goal differential tiebreaker. There is a way for Maccabi Tel Aviv to be Dundalk by at least 2 goals and be eliminated. That would happen if AZ Alkmaar wins both games including beating Zenit St. Petersburg who is good but has already clinched first. Maccabi Tel Aviv will advance if they beat Dundalk and beat or draw with Zenit St. Petersburg. In that case, Maccabi Tel Aviv would have more points than Dundalk. If Maccabi Tel Aviv draws with Zenit St. Petersburg and beats Dundalk, and AZ Alkmaar wins both of their games, Maccabi Tel Aviv will have 8 points each and Maccabi Tel Aviv will win the head-to-head points tiebreaker. In Group K, it was Sparta Prague 2:0 Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The standings are: Sparta Prague: 9 points, +2 Southampton: 7 points, +3 Hapoel Be'er Sheva: 4 points, -1 Inter Milan (Internazionale): 3 points, -4 The remaining games are: Matchday 5: Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs. Inter Milan Sparta Prague vs. Southampton Matchday 6: Southampton vs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva Inter Milan vs. Sparta Prague Hapoel Be'er Sheva will advance if they win both games, but the game at Southampton will be hard. What Hapoel Be'er Sheva should hope for on Matchday 5 is a win and a Sparta Prague win over Southampton. That would make Sparta Prague clinch first. Southampton and Hapoel Be'er Sheva would be tied on points with one game left, and they played a scoreless draw in Israel. Therefore if Hapoel Be'er Sheva plays a draw with goals at Southampton, Hapoel Be'er Sheva would advance on the tiebreaker. If Hapoel Be'er Sheva gets at least as many points on Matchday 5 as Southampton does, Hapoel Be'er Sheva would be alive with one game left and need a win in some scenarios and a draw with goals or win in other scenarios. If Southampton gets more points on Matchday 5 than Hapoel Be'er Sheva does, Hapoel Be'er Sheva will be eliminated before their last game.
Matchday 5 of the Europa League will be on Thursday, and both Israeli clubs will be on Fox Sports 2. I wonder if it's the first time two Israeli clubs have been on TV in the USA on the same day. Maccabi Tel Aviv will play at Zenit St. Petersburg at 11:00 A.M. USA Eastern and Hapoel Be'er Sheva will host Internazionale (Inter Milan) at 1:00 P.M. USA Eastern. Unfortunately I will be on vacation at a home that doesn't get Fox Sports 2.
Group D: Zenit St. Petersburg 2:0 Maccabi Tel Aviv Dundalk 0:1 AZ Alkmaar Standings and scenarios through 5 of 6 games: Zenit St. Petersburg: 15 points, +10 AZ Alkmaar: 5 points, -5 Dundalk: 4 points, -2 Maccabi Tel Aviv: 4 points, -3 On 8 December, AZ Alkmaar hosts Zenit St. Petersburg and Maccabi Tel Aviv hosts Dundalk. If Zeni St. Petersburg wins while Maccabi Tel Aviv draws with Dundalk, there will be a three-way tie for second with 5 points. All three clubs would have a win by 1 goal, 2 draws, and a loss by 1 goal against the other two. The tiebreaker would go to head-to-head goals scored which AZ Alkmaar would win. That makes Maccabi Tel Aviv's scenario straightforward. They must beat Dundalk and have AZ Alkmaar draw or lose to a Zenit St. Petersburg club who the game will be meaningless for. Group K: Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3:2 Inter Milan Sparta Prague 1:0 Southampton Hapoel Be'er Sheva was down 2:0 and scored the winning goal in the 90+3rd minute. Standings and scenarios through 5 of 6 games: Sparta Prague: 12 points, +3 Southampton: 7 points, +2 Hapoel Be'er Sheva: 7 points, +0 Inter Milan: 3 points, -5 On 8 December, Inter Milan hosts Sparta Prague and Southampton hosts Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Sparta Prague advanced and Inter Milan is eliminated. Because Hapoel Be'er Sheva played a scoreless draw hosting Southampton, Hapoel Be'er Sheva will advance on head-to-head away goals from a draw with goals. Southampton would advance with a scoreless draw because all the head-to-head tiebreakers would be tied and Southampton would have the better goal differential. If Southampton vs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva has a winner, that team advances.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sports/Beersheba-registers-stunning-comeback-to-beat-Inter-473629 is titled "Beersheba registers stunning comeback to beat Inter."
Here are the probabilities based on the Bet365 odds: At 1:00 P.M. USA Eastern: Maccabi Tel Aviv win: 64.9 percent Draw: 23.4 percent Dundalk win: 11.7 percent Maccabi Tel Aviv will advance with a win and AZ Alkmaar not winning hosting Zenit St. Petersburg. The Bet365 odds give AZ Alkmaar a 57.3 percent chance at not winning. Therefore Maccabi Tel Aviv has a 0.649 * 0.573 = 37.2 percent chance at advancing. At 3:05 P.M. USA Eastern on Fox Sports 1: Southampton win: 65.2 percent Draw: 22.3 percent Hapoel Be'er Sheva win: 12.5 percent Hapoel Be'er Sheva will advance with a win or a draw with goals. If you assume that a little over two-thirds of draws have goals, you get 15.0 percent for a draw with goals, and 7.3 percent for a scoreless draw. Then Southampton has a 65.2 + 7.3 + 72.5 percent chance at advancing and Hapoel Be'er Sheva has a 12.5 + 15.0 = 27.5 percent chance at advancing. Then if you look at the two groups as independent events, the probabilities are: Both Israeli clubs advance: 10.2 percent Maccabi Tel Aviv advances and Hapoel Be'er Sheva does not: 27.0 percent Hapoel Be'er Sheva advances and Maccabi Tel Aviv does not: 17.3 percent Neither Israeli club advances: 45.4 percent It adds up to 99.9 percent due to rounding.
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2:1 Dundalk AZ Alkmaar 3:2 Zenit St. Petersburg Maccabi Tel Aviv won but were eliminated by AZ Alkmaar's win. The goals were scored by Tal Ben Haim II. in the 21st minute, an own goal by Elazar Dasa in the 27th minute for Dundalk's only goal, and Dor Micha in the 38th minute. Maccabi Tel Aviv had 60 percent of the possession and more shots on target, 8 to 1. Here are the final Group D standings: Zenit St. Petersburg: 15 points, 17 goals scored, 8 goals allowed, +9 AZ Alkmaar: 8 points, 6 goals scored, 10 goals allowed, -4 Maccabi Tel Aviv: 7 points, 7 goals scored, 9 goals allowed, -2 Dundalk: 4 points, 5 goals scored, 8 goals allowed, -3 AZ Alkmaar and Gent each had 2 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, and a -4 goal differential, which was the worst goal differential by a club that advanced. Southampton 1:1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva Inter Milan (Internazionale) 2:1 Sparta Prague Southampton needed a win or scoreless draw, so after Maor Buzaglo scored in the 79th minute, Southampton went from being in position to advance to needing to score twice. Virgil Van Dijk equalized in the 90+1st minute, and after that Southampton had a shot that at first I thought was in the goal, but it was wide. Southampton had 59 percent of the possession, more shots (16 to 6), more shots on target (5 to 1), more free kicks (14 to 10), more corner kicks (7 to 1), and fewer yellow cards (Southampton had 1 and Hapoel Be'er Sheva had 4). Inter Milan got they first win after they had clinched last place. If the tiebreakers were goal differential and goals scored instead of head-to-head, Southampton would have advanced due to their stoppage time goal. If the tiebreakers were goal differential and goals scored instead of head-to-head and Hapoel Be'er Sheva had won 0:1 today, Hapoel Be'er Sheva would have tied with Southampton at +1 and Hapoel Be'er Sheva would have advanced on goals scored. Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Astra Giurgiu, and PAOK were the three clubs to advance with the fewest or tied for the fewest goals scored in their group. Here are the final Group K standings: Sparta Prague: 12 points, 8 goals scored, 6 goals allowed, +2 Hapoel Be'er Sheva: 8 points, 6 goals scored, 6 goals allowed, +0 Southampton: 8 points, 6 goals scored, 4 goals allowed, +2 Inter Milan: 6 points, 7 goals scored, 11 goals allowed, -4 The Europa League Round of 32 draw is on Monday.
Israel passed Scotland for 22nd in the country coefficients. Hapoel Be'er Sheva's has 15 possible opponents, who are the 11 winners of other groups and 4 Champions League third place clubs. Their club coeffieicnts for the five seasons before 2016-2017 are: Schalke 04: 96.035 Zenit St. Petersburg: 93.216 Shakhtar Donetsk: 81.976 Athletic Bilbao: 75.142 Tottenham: 74.256 Lyon: 63.049 Ajax: 58.112 Fiorentina: 57.087 (median) AS Roma: 41.587 Fenerbahce: 40.920 APOEL Nicosia: 35.935 Besiktas: 34.920 AS Saint-Etienne: 26.049 Copenhagen: 24.720 Osmanlispor: 6.920 (the minimum club coefficient for a Turkish club) That's a mean of 53.995.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva will play Besiktas in the Europa League Round of 32. Besiktas finished third in their Champions League Group with 7 points and a -5 goal differential. They played 3 draws at home and had a win at Napoli, a draw at Benfica, and a loss 6:0 at Dinamo Kiev.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sp...n-dreamland-after-Europa-qualification-475004 is titled "Soccer: Beersheba in dreamland after Europa qualification."