Hapoel Beer Sheva faces Vikingur on Wednesday night (20:30) as they will try to overturn a 2-1 deficit against the Icelandic side in the second leg of second round UEFA Champions League qualifying. The match will be a home date played in Szombathely, Hungary due to the security situation in Israel and the southern reds aren’t expecting a large amount of traveling support which may favor the visitors.

The Beer Sheva Head Coach Ran Kozuk shared his thoughts ahead of the match, “I think we need to be more aggressive defensively. There are many aspects of our style of play that didn’t come through, especially in the first half. That’s what allowed Vikingur to create so many chances and also earn a lot of set-piece opportunities.”

Regarding his lineup, Kozuk kept his cards close to his chest, “We’re giving a lot of thought to the best way to approach the game so we can win it. I hope, with God’s help, we’ll make the right decisions.”

On the importance of qualifying for the next round, he added, “I think this match is important for everyone, but especially for the club. The club’s next step depends on reaching the next round. That’s true for the coaching staff and the players alike. We all believe it’s possible and that we need to get through, but we’ll have to work very hard to achieve it because we’re up against an excellent opponent.”

To conclude, Kozuk spoke about the “home” stadium where the upcoming match will be played, “I think the conditions here are different from what they were in Iceland. It doesn’t give us a huge advantage over them, but there will be a home atmosphere and we’re finally playing on grass. We’ll try to make the most of that as well.”

Gylfi Sigurðsson, the Vikingur star, spoke about the Israeli champions and the style of play he expects from them, “I don’t expect them to change much about the way they play. They press a lot and they’re very good at it. They’re a good football team and they want to play. They have a lot of quality players. I think it all depends on how well we can press them, defend against them, and play our way out of their pressure. That’s going to be a key factor.”

Víkingur has already held one training session in Hungary and the game will be played on natural grass, unlike the matches held in Iceland which is something that Sigurðsson prefers, “If the pitch is good, then of course it’s more enjoyable to play on. I think everyone is used to playing on both artificial turf and natural grass. There’s just something about playing on grass that’s a little more enjoyable.”

Daniel Hafsteinsson also commented on the preparations for the second leg which is in a country where they recently played when they earned a draw against Gyor in the first round of qualifying and advanced after having a one goal advantage in the first leg.

“It’s similar to the match against Győr, we’re going to play against a good team. There’s more excitement than pressure within the squad. We also have to try to enjoy it, but yo never really know what will be. Over the years you learn that playing away is a completely different experience. You don’t know what to expect. It’s a totally different game. It’s hotter here, we’re playing on natural grass, and the conditions are a bit different. I hope it’ll be just as enjoyable as the first match.”

The stadium in Szombathely has a capacity of around 9,000 spectators, but only a few hundred Hapoel Beer Sheva supporters are expected to attend. Hafsteinsson made it clear that Víkingur sees this as an advantage, “It definitely helps. It’s to our advantage, no doubt. They won’t get the same motivation they would if they were playing at home and we need to try to take advantage of that.”