Beitar Jerusalem got their European season up and running with a scrappy, hard-earned 1-0 win away to AEK Larnaca in Cyprus on Thursday, the perfect start for Almog Cohen in his first match in sole charge as head coach.
The only goal came in the 77th minute, when defender Brayan Carabalí stepped up to a direct free kick around 14 metres out and beat goalkeeper Andreas Preskevakis into the corner, two minutes after the Cypriot hosts had been reduced to ten men.
AEK Larnaca's night unravelled when Mike van der Horst was sent off in the 75th minute for hauling down Timo Mozzi as he broke clear on goal, a professional foul that denied a clear scoring chance and left Larnaca to see out the closing stages a man short.
It was a tight, cagey opening period at the AEK Arena, with the hosts creating the better early openings before Beitar, marshalled by goalkeeper Miguel Silva at the other end, gradually took control after the half-hour mark and dominated for long stretches of the second half.
"We may not have a lot of experience in the Conference League, but as a team we showed maturity," Cohen said afterwards, according to ONE, crediting his players for sticking to the game plan against a side with far deeper continental pedigree.
He was more pointed in comments carried by Walla Sport: "After we struggled, there was only one team on the pitch," the coach said, before adding a note of caution ahead of the second leg — "If we play our football in the return leg, we can advance."
The result doubles as a personal milestone for Cohen, who was placed in the dugout on May 31 while continuing to serve as Beitar's sporting director, and who now has a win in his first match as the club's official head coach.
AEK Larnaca are no pushovers in this competition. Under previous management they reached the Conference League's round of 16 last season and were eliminated only after extra time, losing 2-1 away — 1-2 on aggregate — to Crystal Palace in March. New Cypriot coach Mauro Camoranesi, appointed in July, was left to rue missed finishing chances that could have levelled the tie before Carabalí's late strike.
The return leg goes ahead on July 30, but not in Jerusalem. Beitar's UEFA-designated home venue for this season is Stadionul Ilie Oană in Ploiești, Romania, after UEFA again ruled out staging European matches in Israel because of the security situation in the region.
A draw or a win at the Romanian venue would send Beitar through to the third qualifying round for the first time in the club's recent European history, continuing the momentum of an opening that was built, in Cohen's own words, on a display of composure his young squad had not previously been asked to prove.
