Preparing for Sabah: Hapoel Be'er Sheva players to rest ahead of match
Ran Kozuch will rest the heroes of the victory over Red Star Belgrade during tonight's Toto Cup match against Hapoel Haifa. Amit Ohana, Itay Hazut, and others are expected to start as they look to prove themselves ahead of the clash with Sabah.
Between their stunning victory in Serbia over Red Star Belgrade and the first leg of the Champions League playoffs against Azerbaijan's Sabah, Hapoel Be'er Sheva returns to domestic action tonight (Saturday, 20:30) at Sammy Ofer Stadium, where they face Hapoel Haifa in a match for fifth place in the Toto Cup.
As previously reported, the champions requested that the Football Leagues Administration and the Football Association postpone tonight's match or swap venues to play at Turner Stadium. These requests were denied, meaning coach Ran Kozuch must field 11 players who did not feature against Red Star Belgrade and who are not slated to start in Wednesday's away match in Romania.
Since the 11 players who started on Tuesday are expected to start again in the Champions League playoffs, they will be rested tonight and may not even sit on the bench. Nevertheless, Hapoel Be'er Sheva's deep squad ensures the coach can still field a capable starting lineup.
Goalkeeper Marko Wolf and players such as Amir Ganah, Roi Levi, Yoni Stoyanov, Itay Hazut, Hamudi Kanaan, Amit Ohana, and Muhammad Abu Rumi are expected to start tonight.
"We want to win every game, regardless of the lineup. There are players who haven't played for a long time and want to prove themselves ahead of Wednesday's game. There is no reason not to show up and perform well, even with the current workload," the club stated yesterday.
