Beitar Jerusalem’s European campaign came to an end as Almog Cohen’s side defeated Austria Wein 2-1 after 120 minutes in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Conference League, but after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate, the Austrians won 4-2 on penalties to eliminate the yellow-and-black.

At the end of the match, Beitar Jerusalem head coach Almog Cohen said, “I’m proud of my players throughout all four games we played. Even when we look back at the previous game and watch it several times, apart from 15-20 minutes in the second half, we controlled the entire match. I’m incredibly proud of the players because we emphasized the tempo and how to keep increasing it. There was only one team on the pitch here.”

“We controlled the game, created chances and produced a lot of opportunities. Unfortunately, that’s football. The better team doesn’t always win. From now on, we’re focusing on the league. That’s our goal. We’re going to bed disappointed, but tomorrow we’ll wake up refreshed, with new energy, and arrive as prepared as possible for the opening game against Maccabi Netanya.”

The bench boss continued, “I think controlling four games against Larnaca and Austria Vienna, which are very good teams, shows me how mature our players are and how proud I am of them. We increased our running intensity by more than 20% compared to the previous game. When I see that, it makes me proud.

“We win as a team and lose as a team. The most important thing for the team I coach is that we never give up until the very end. No matter what happens, no matter who the opponent is, we never stop believing. You can lose, everyone loses games, but giving up or not believing is something that I will never accept. In all of our games, from the match against Hapoel Tel Aviv until today, the team has always believed and always given everything it could. For me, that is the way. I’m sure we’ll work very hard and come prepared for the opening game.”

On the transition to league play, Cohen said, “We’ll continue managing the players’ workload. The team gave an enormous effort here. We’ll make a lot of rotations for Monday. We have an excellent squad and I believe in all of the players. When something happens, I immediately bring players on, whether they’re young or players who have only recently arrived. You could see that Nevo Shedo had an excellent game, and Liel Deri came on brilliantly. These are players for whom this isn’t a normal stage and even Roie Elimelech has only played a little in these kinds of matches.”

“I believed 100% that we would win this game. Unfortunately, we won but lost on penalties, but my belief was 100%. I think that’s the energy we need to take with us into the start of the season,” Cohen concluded.