Beitar Jerusalem's European campaign hangs by a thread heading into Thursday night, when the Israeli side must overturn a 2-1 aggregate deficit against Austria Wien in Vienna simply to stay alive in the Conference League's third qualifying round.

The first leg, played at a neutral venue in Ploiești, Romania rather than at Beitar's own Teddy Stadium, went the Austrians' way despite Beitar taking an early lead through Noam Muche in the 19th minute. Vasilije Marković equalized right on half-time, and substitute Sanel Šaljić, finishing off a Daniel Nnodim assist, put Austria Wien ahead for good in the 69th minute.

Speaking to reporters before the return leg, head coach Almog Cohen zeroed in on the lapses that cost his side in Romania. "I think the key points for us are to be stable with the ball, especially in European games, to make minimum mistakes, because we saw that every mistake of ours cost us," he said, according to ONE.

Cohen, who moved from Beitar's sporting-director role into the dugout this season, said the club has done its homework on the opponent. "We showed the players the match many times and we have some information on Austria Wien... we will come prepared and we believe, and with God's help, we want to come win here and advance to the next round," he added.

Striker Shon Weissman brings a personal thread to the tie: before rejoining Beitar this summer, he spent time in Austria with Wolfsberger AC, where he was the Austrian Bundesliga's top scorer in the 2019-20 season with 30 goals in 31 games.

"First of all it's interesting to return here, I played here just two months ago," Weissman said. "It's cool to return, especially with an Israeli team and with Beitar's symbol."

The forward pointed to the opening 45 minutes in Ploiești as evidence his side belongs in this tie. "We showed in the first half of the previous match that we are a quality team that can win any match," he said.

He also touched on the toll of a season already dominated by travel. "I returned to the country and thought I'd be more in Israel, but meanwhile we're more abroad than in Israel, and it's not simple, especially without Teddy," Weissman said, as reported by ONE.

Kickoff at Austria Wien's Generali Arena is set for Thursday at 21:30 Israel time. The winner advances to the playoff round, where either Braga or Dinamo Minsk awaits a place in the group stage.