In the European Toto Cup quarterfinal match, Hapoel Tel Aviv slipped by Beitar Jerusalem 2-2 (3-1 on penalties) as keeper Assaf Tzur made three saves in the penalty shootout to move the Reds into the final four of the competition.

Elyaniv Barda’s side took the lead in the 10th minute as Chico put home the ball from in close to give the Reds a 1-0 lead, however, just minutes later Johnbosco Kalu slotted home a Ziv Ben Shimol ball from inside of the box to knot the game up at 1-1.

As both teams looked to break the deadlock, Ofer Gelbard knocked down Timoti Muzie in the box, good for a penalty in favor of Beitar which saw newcomer Shon Weissman slot home the spot kick to give Almog Cohen’s squad a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute. But just as looked like Beitar would move on, Daniel Dappa scored from inside the area to draw Hapoel even at the 97th minute to send the match to penalty kicks in order to determine the winner.

In the shootout it was all Reds keeper Assaf Tzur as the Hapoel shot stopper made three straight saves while Yonatan Ferber, Mor Buskila and Chico all made their penalties to help Barda’s side move into the semifinals.

“I want to take the intensity and aggressiveness that I saw in this game,” Hapoel Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda said. “Beitar were better than us, but at the end of the day we managed to win and showed great determination to come back. There were many things we had worked on but didn’t execute effectively. That’s what we’ll be focusing on, especially with two matches coming up against a team like Ludogorets in Conference League play that will put us under just as much pressure as Beitar did.”

“I felt pretty good and I can take a lot from this game,” Beitar Jerusalem Head Coach Almog Cohen spoke about the match. “But of course I am disappointed that we didn’t win despite having played well. I want to play as a very fast pace and we were able to do that and also take advantage of our numbers. I am ver proud of the guys and they found the open spaces and moved the ball well but ultimately we didn’t win which is the most important thing.”