Hapoel Beer Sheva blanked Hapoel Petach Tikva 2-0 as Muhammed Abu Romi and Muhamed Knaan both scored in the second half to take the win. After a goalless first half, southern reds Head Coach Ran Kozuk inserted Muhamed Knaan into the lineup as the forward made an immediate impact. First, Knaan’s through ball to Abu Romi broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute while soon thereafter he also scored from just outside of the box to double the advantage and help the visitors to the points ahead of an Europa League clash against Dinamo Zagreb coming up on Wednesday.

Beer Sheva coach Ran Kozuk summed up the match, “We’re heading into a difficult week with a lot of absences and our position in the table and our mood weren’t at their best after the loss to Maccabi. To come here, put in a solid but mature performance and pick up points is something we wanted. There’s a good team here.”

“The European campaign? I think first and foremost we’re facing excellent teams, so we need to approach it with humility. Yes, we have the ambition to show our football abroad and bring home points. It won’t be easy, but that’s the goal. Right now, the goal is to beat Dinamo Zagreb and then we’ll come home to face Kiryat Shmona. Of course, we want to show what we can do against Zagreb, and we can.”

Hapoel Petah Tikva coach Omer Peretz said, “Beer Sheva controlled the game, that’s true. We wanted to put more pressure on their center-backs, but there weren’t really any clear-cut chances for either side. We could have made better decisions on two occasions. On the other hand, we conceded from a rather unnecessary turnover of our own, and then Beer Sheva scored the second goal within seconds, which gave them some breathing room. We wanted to get back into the game but couldn’t. I think we put in a fairly solid and good performance today.”