Maccabi Tel Avivthe only Israeli representative in the European factories, left herself a chance to start the next stage within the European League after achieving a second consecutive victory in the factory, this time over the R. P. S. Riga from Latvia, with the result 1:2.
Maccabi Tel Aviv took the lead for the first time in the 16th minute, after Wesley Petacci put a free kick into the Latvian team’s box and Idan Nahmias continued with a shot into the net, 0:1. Riga responded with an equalizing goal scored in the 52nd minute, but Maccabi Tel Aviv, who knew they had to win, also achieved it thanks to a second goal scored in the 70th minute. Again it was Petacci who lifted a free ball deep into the box, but this time it was Nemanja Stoic, who continued with a shot in, 1:2. Just before celebrating a victory, Maccabi Tel Aviv experienced a moment of apprehension, after the Latvians received a golden opportunity to equalize for the second time in the game. It happened deep in overtime. The Tel Aviv goalkeeper Roy Mishpeti committed a foul inside the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Mishfati corrected the mistake by deflecting the penalty and giving his team a super important victory.
Maccabi Tel Aviv coach, Zarko Laztic: “There is only one way to play against teams like Riga and we succeeded in doing so. Riga is a strong and disciplined team that caused a lot of trouble for their other opponents. We knew it would be difficult against them, but we found the solutions. We achieved a significant victory for us and we will see what happens.” It will be later. It is always possible to fantasize and as long as we have a chance to reach the next stage, we will do our best to make it happen.”
Goalkeeper Roy Mishpeti, who caused a penalty in the last minute of the match, but made up for it with a huge save, concluded: “This victory belongs to all the players who made a tremendous effort throughout the game. The life of a goalkeeper is not easy. I made a mistake at the end and caused our fans a lot of heart palpitations, But I’m happy that I missed the penalty I stopped. In the end, I’m happy with the result and we’re moving forward.”
Following the victory, Maccabi Tel Aviv advanced to 27th place among 34 teams participating in the European League, with two more games remaining before the end of the group stage. Let’s just mention that the first 8 teams qualify directly for the round of 16, while the teams that finish in places 9-24, will advance to the next stage and face each other in a knock-out method.
Maccabi Tel Aviv has 6 points and is only one point away from the Swedish team Elfsburg, which is ranked 24th, which as mentioned leads to the next stage. Maccabi Tel Aviv has two games left: against Bodo Glimt from Norway (1/23/25) and against Porto Hachaka from Portugal (1/30/25).
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s European tour has brought in 5,910,000 euros so far. This amount does not include royalties from sponsorships and publishing broadcasting rights, which are estimated to amount to an additional 2 million euros.
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