Hapoel Tel Aviv have a week to prepare for the toughest leg of their European summer, and Sport5's Hebrew coverage of Sunday's Ekstraklasa round carries a clear message for the Reds: their next opponent, GKS Katowice, do not know how to lose ugly.
Katowice trailed Radomiak Radom 1-0 at the break after Ibrahima Camara's 37th-minute strike, but they tore the game apart after the interval. An Abdoul Tapsoba own goal in the 58th minute levelled things, Belarusian forward Ilya Shkurin put them ahead in the 67th, and Bartosz Nowak added a third deep into stoppage time to seal a 3-1 win.
Polish outlet sportowefakty, cited by Sport5, described a side that keeps finding another gear under pressure: "They demonstrate character repeatedly, showing strong ability. Over 20 shots this early in the season is impressive."
Shkurin, in particular, is the player Hapoel Tel Aviv's defenders will need to know inside out. Przegladsportowy, also quoted by Sport5, wrote that the 27-year-old "is performing excellently — scoring, assisting, using head and foot, even defending when needed."
It is not an isolated purple patch. Shkurin scored the winning goal that eliminated Slovakia's Žilina in the previous round of Conference League qualifying, the result that sent Katowice through to face Hapoel Tel Aviv in the third qualifying round in the first place.
That tie is now the club's main focus. The first leg is scheduled for Thursday, August 6, in Tel Aviv, before the sides travel to Katowice in southern Poland for the return.
Hapoel Tel Aviv arrive on the back of their own European test, having eliminated Bulgaria's Ludogorets Razgrad 4-2 on aggregate. Emmanuel Boateng scored twice in a 2-2 second-leg draw after Elyaniv Barda's side had built a first-leg cushion, completing a run that has taken the club from the second tier to continental qualifiers within little more than a year.
Sport5's framing is unambiguous: Katowice arrive with confidence, goals and a proven capacity to come from behind, and Hapoel Tel Aviv will need a sharper defensive night than the one Radomiak produced if they are to protect their advantage heading into the second leg.
