Ahead of the biggest night in Hapoel Beer Sheva's European history, the club's supporters are carrying more than hope for a first-ever Champions League league-phase place. They are also carrying the memory of Ben Cohen, a young fan who never got to see it.

Cohen, a 21-year-old staff sergeant in the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion from Lehavim, was killed on 31 March along with three comrades — Capt. Noam Madmoni, 22, of Sderot; Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, 21, of Bat Yam; and Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21, of Modi'in — in a close-range clash with Hezbollah operatives near the village of Beit Lif in southern Lebanon.

Cohen was a devoted Hapoel Beer Sheva fan, and his final wish, relayed by his family, was that mourners wear the club's red at his funeral. Thousands did. The club has since named the southern stand at Turner Stadium in his memory and marked matches with his name on the pitch and a moment of silence.

That bond followed the club into Europe. Because of the security situation in Israel, Hapoel Beer Sheva chose to stage the home leg of their Champions League play-off against Sabah in Bucharest rather than at Turner Stadium, with tickets sold only to fans travelling from Israel.

ONE reports that when the Cohen family arrived at the Giulești stadium in the Romanian capital for that first leg on 19 August, Romanian police, acting on UEFA guidance, would not let them bring in a flag made in Ben's memory, on the grounds that it displayed military insignia and a uniform. Hapoel won the match 2-1 without the flag inside the ground.

Ben's father, Tzvika Cohen, said at the time that the family would return for future European fixtures with banners stripped of the imagery the authorities had objected to, rather than abandon the tribute altogether.

That promise has now been kept. ONE reports the family has produced a new memorial banner, without the disputed symbols, to take to Tuesday's second leg in Baku, where Hapoel need only a draw against Sabah to reach the Champions League league phase for the first time in the club's history.

"Nothing will stop us," Ben's sister, Shay Cohen, told ONE. "We wish us success."

Kick-off at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium is scheduled for 19:45 local time. Hapoel travel with the advantage from Javon East and Igor Zlatanović's goals in Bucharest, and a place in the competition's league phase — and the record books — within reach.

For the Cohen family, whatever happens on the pitch, being present with Ben's name again will matter just as much.