Hapoel Be'er Sheva head to Belgrade on Tuesday carrying the narrowest of advantages into the biggest fixture of their season, protecting a 1-0 lead over Red Star Belgrade with a maiden Champions League league-phase place within reach for the reigning Israeli champions.
The tie sits delicately poised after last week's first leg, which Hapoel technically hosted but played at the neutral Haladás Stadium in Szombathely, Hungary, as Israeli clubs continue to stage UEFA fixtures away from home. Zahi Ahmed settled it with the only goal of the night, finishing in the 38th minute to put the Israeli side in front.
Getting there was not straightforward. Matan Baltaksa was shown two yellow cards in the same passage of play and sent off in the 58th minute, leaving Hapoel to defend their lead with ten men for more than half an hour against a Red Star side chasing an equaliser. They held on.
Now comes the sterner test: a trip to Red Star's own fortress, the Rajko Mitić Stadium — known to every Serbian fan as the Marakana — where the hosts have historically been at their most dominant. With the away-goals rule long scrapped from UEFA's books, a draw in Belgrade would be enough to send Hapoel through on aggregate.
"We're aware of what we'll face tomorrow," said Hapoel manager Ran Kozuk, quoted by ONE ahead of the trip. "We've already faced them, so we've discovered additional things" about how to approach the return fixture, he added, while cautioning that Red Star remain "a very good team" that tends to dominate whoever they play at home.
Among those Kozuk is counting on is Igor Zlatanović, the Serbian forward who has emerged as one of Hapoel's most important attacking players this season — and who, according to earlier reports in Serbia, was himself once on Red Star's radar as a transfer target before he committed his future to Be'er Sheva.
The stakes could hardly be higher for a club that has never before reached the Champions League's league phase. Hapoel Be'er Sheva enter this qualifying round fresh off winning the Israeli Premier League title, and advancing past a name as storied as Red Star Belgrade would rank among the most significant European results in the club's history.
Kick-off in Belgrade is set for Tuesday evening, with Hapoel needing only to avoid defeat to book their place among Europe's elite for the first time.
