The Violets return from Israel with mixed feelings. They lost their lead after just 72 seconds, and then suffered a penalty kick late in the first half (according to Maribor the foul was committed outside the penalty box), from which Hapoel scored to make it a final 2:1.
"Our boys played a good match. The match was difficult, also because of the humid weather. The Israelis had a player who was in good form, who was difficult to stop. We had to put two men on him and we cooperated well in defense. The Israelis started a lot of attacks through Nwakaeme, and you can see that he's their main weapon. He also proved his quality with a remarkable goal," coach Darko Milanič told the club's website.
The feeling was that Slovenia's champions could have scored another goal, as the home team was often too slow in transitioning to defense. But Maribor always lacked that final step, either due to poor passing or the inability to control the ball in key moments. The Israelis also had their chances, but goalkeeper Jasmin Handanović was confident on goal.
"Except for one mistake we played well defensively. Vrhovec's alleged foul for a penalty started outside the penalty box. After conceding the second goal just seconds before half-time, we came out well in the second half. Our opponent’s game dropped a level and they tried to be dangerous through counter-attacks, which is what we expected. They controlled of the match only after our goal. Later, in the second half, our players took the initiative and attacked, and we lacked very little to score a second goal," said Milanič.
On Tuesday at the Ljudski Vrt Stadium a 1:0 victory would be enough to take Maribor to the Champions League. Milanič is well aware of the opportunity. "We can play against Hapoel. We survived the away match despite the loud support for the home team. The result is not pleasing, but it does give us a chance to show some excellent football on our home turf and defeat our opponents," concluded Milanič.

R. K., MMC; translated by K. J.