Hapoel Be'er Sheva Fight Back to Beat Sabah in Champions League Play-off First Leg
Hapoel Be'er Sheva came from a goal down to beat Sabah in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, giving the Israeli side a narrow advantage to protect in the return.
The match was played in Bucharest, Romania, on 18 or 19 August, part of the play-off round that determines which clubs reach the Champions League group stage proper — the phase of Europe's premier club competition where 36 teams compete in a single league table rather than the old group format. Hapoel Be'er Sheva went in as favourites, priced at betting odds of 2.30 to win on the night (Yahoo Sports).
Sabah, the Azerbaijani champions, struck first. The details of the opener are sparse, but the visitors from Baku made Hapoel Be'er Sheva work for it — going behind in a two-legged tie, where the combined score over both matches decides who advances, is exactly the scenario that tests a team's nerve.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva's response was immediate and decisive. They fought back to take the win, securing a first-leg lead that they will carry into the second leg (BBC Sport). The exact scoreline has not been confirmed in the available reports, but the result puts the Israeli side in front heading into the return fixture.
The play-off round draw took place on 3 August (UEFA), slotting Hapoel Be'er Sheva against Sabah in a tie that few casual followers of European football would have circled in marker pen back in June — but that now carries real weight. Both clubs are chasing a place in the Champions League's expanded 36-team league phase, where a single season's worth of European nights, prestige and revenue is on offer.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva, based in the Negev desert city of Be'er Sheva, have been here before — the club reached the Champions League group stage in 2016 and have recent experience of European competition. Sabah, from the Azerbaijani capital Baku, are less familiar with this stage, and a first-leg defeat away from home leaves them needing to turn things around on their own patch.
For both sets of supporters, the second leg now becomes the night that decides everything. One goal either way can shift the whole tie. That is the beauty of the two-legged format — nothing is settled until the final whistle of the second match.
