Optimism at Maccabi Tel Aviv thanks to Be'er Sheva: "We too must believe"
The Yellows need a big comeback against CSKA Sofia after the 3-0 defeat in the first leg, but the club believes it can be done (21:00, Sport1). Kenny Miller has focused on belief, capitalizing on chances, and reducing errors, with several lineup changes expected.
While those around the team give the players no chance and are already calculating their path to the Conference League playoffs next week, tonight (21:00, Sport1) the Maccabi Tel Aviv players will take the pitch at the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia to try to complete a comeback and beat CSKA Sofia by a margin of at least three goals in 90 minutes, in order to reach extra time.
It is clear to everyone that the defeat last week in the home game in Batumi minimizes the chances that Maccabi Tel Aviv will get past the Bulgarians, but there have been enough examples this summer in European competitions of teams that knew how to overcome a deficit of several goals from the first leg and win the second game.
Kenny Miller has focused on three elements in the last two days in his conversations with the players. The first is belief that they have a chance in the second leg. It was important for the Maccabi Tel Aviv coach to emphasize to them that if there is no belief that it is possible to win decisively, there is no point in playing.
"The first important thing is that we believe in ourselves. I believe in you. We are not throwing in the towel before this game," Miller told the players.
The second element the coach spoke about was capitalizing on chances. In the first game, Maccabi Tel Aviv reached enough situations and did not score even one goal. Miller spoke with the players about scoring goals and that the team must be more focused and lethal in front of the goal, because it will get its chances tonight.
The third issue the coach addressed is the unforced errors, which created easy transition attacks for the Bulgarians in the first game. Foolish ball losses, not even under pressure from the opponent, caused CSKA Sofia to punish Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Miller is expected to make several changes compared to the first game. Tyrese Asante will replace Itay Ben Hamo as right back, and Roy Revivo will replace Shahar Rosen as left back. Osher Davida will enter the right wing, Elieu Varela will return to the left wing, and Ester Sokler will start in the center instead of Sayed Abu Farchi. It is also possible that Dan Glazer will start in the 11 instead of Issouf Sissokho.
A player on the team said last night: "We don't have too much to say after the first game, but enough big things happened just this week. Hapoel Be'er Sheva won in Belgrade in an amazing way. We too must believe that we can win here with many goals, but first of all let's start with the first goal."
