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Sabah Stuns Hapoel Be'er Sheva in Historic UCL Playoff Thriller
(MENAFN) Azerbaijan's Sabah punched its ticket to the UEFA Champions League league phase for the first time in club history, storming back from the brink to defeat Israel's Hapoel Be'er Sheva 5-2 in extra time and claim a 6-4 aggregate triumph in a dramatic playoff-round clash.
The result makes Sabah only the second Azerbaijani club ever to reach the tournament's league phase, following in the footsteps of Qarabag FK, which first achieved the feat back in 2017.
Coming into Tuesday's second leg, Hapoel Be'er Sheva held the upper hand after a 2-1 first-leg win on home soil in Romania. That advantage looked set to hold when Igor Zlatanovic fired the Israeli side ahead just 10 minutes in. Sabah hit back through Christian Nwachukwu in the 38th minute to level matters, only for Guy Mizrahi to restore Hapoel's lead in the 61st minute.
The tie swung again in the 74th minute, when Umarali Rakhmonaliev pulled Sabah level. Then came the moment that changed everything: deep into stoppage time, in the fourth minute of added time, Tellur Mutallimov struck to make it 3-2 on the night, pulling the aggregate score even at 4-4. The goal came off a corner, with Tymoteusz Puchacz supplying the cross that Mutallimov converted in the last action of regulation play, forcing extra time.
Sabah never let go of the momentum. Patrick Orphe Mbina put the hosts in front in the 101st minute, and Joy-Lance Mickels sealed the comeback with a goal in the 115th, completing a stunning 5-2 victory on the night and a 6-4 aggregate win overall.
Tuesday's other results:
Bodo/Glimt 3-0 NEC Nijmegen (Bodo/Glimt advance 6-1 on aggregate)
LASK Linz 5-1 Celtic (LASK Linz advance 5-4 on aggregate)
The result makes Sabah only the second Azerbaijani club ever to reach the tournament's league phase, following in the footsteps of Qarabag FK, which first achieved the feat back in 2017.
Coming into Tuesday's second leg, Hapoel Be'er Sheva held the upper hand after a 2-1 first-leg win on home soil in Romania. That advantage looked set to hold when Igor Zlatanovic fired the Israeli side ahead just 10 minutes in. Sabah hit back through Christian Nwachukwu in the 38th minute to level matters, only for Guy Mizrahi to restore Hapoel's lead in the 61st minute.
The tie swung again in the 74th minute, when Umarali Rakhmonaliev pulled Sabah level. Then came the moment that changed everything: deep into stoppage time, in the fourth minute of added time, Tellur Mutallimov struck to make it 3-2 on the night, pulling the aggregate score even at 4-4. The goal came off a corner, with Tymoteusz Puchacz supplying the cross that Mutallimov converted in the last action of regulation play, forcing extra time.
Sabah never let go of the momentum. Patrick Orphe Mbina put the hosts in front in the 101st minute, and Joy-Lance Mickels sealed the comeback with a goal in the 115th, completing a stunning 5-2 victory on the night and a 6-4 aggregate win overall.
Tuesday's other results:
Bodo/Glimt 3-0 NEC Nijmegen (Bodo/Glimt advance 6-1 on aggregate)
LASK Linz 5-1 Celtic (LASK Linz advance 5-4 on aggregate)
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