Beitar boss thanks God for win
Three goals in last five minutes seal dramatic 4-3 Europa League victory.
Andrew Sherwood is the Jewish News Sport and Community Editor
Beitar Jerusalem scored three times in the last five minutes to claim a stunning 4-3 win over Hungarian side Vasas in the first leg of their Europa League first qualifying round tie.
Hosting the first leg in Petah Tikva due to a UEFA-inflicted punishment for the behaviour of their fans, the club are looking to reach the group stage of continental competition for the first time in club history, and Brazilian midfielder Georginho, on his debut, got them off to the perfect start, when he fired them ahead after 19 minutes, but Yevgen Pavlov’s double before the break gave the Hungarian side a half-time advantage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I397uU-kbdM
They seemed to be heading out of the tournament when Tamas Kulcsar extended their lead in the 52nd minute, and held onto that advantage until the 88th minute. Yossi Benayoun, also making his debut, reduced the deficit when he tapped home after fine work by Itay Shechter, before playing provider, sending Idan Vered through, who rounded the goalkeeper to level the score.
The comeback was complete in the second minute of injury time through Erik Sabo, meaning they take the advantage into next Thursday’s second leg. Beitar coach Sharon Mimer said: “God loved us today, we made a lot of mistakes and I’m happy that we can try and correct them on the back of a win. If we will be ready next week we will complete the job.”
Benayoun said: “To come back from 3-1 isn’t easy against any opponent and I’m happy we managed to do it.”
Elsewhere, Maccabi Tel Aviv, who are looking to qualify for the group stage of the competition for a third successive win, claimed a 2-0 home win over Albanaian side KF Tirana. Goals in each half from Yonatan Cohen and Eli Dasa seeing Jordi Cruyff’s first game in charge off to a winning start.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU21_UbeEz0
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
