After the “home leg” of the UEFA Conference League game ended 1-0 in favor of Maccabi Haifa in Budapest, the Israeli side headed to Belgium on Wednesday and were lucky to come away with a one-all draw after going down to 10 men late in the game.
Four-times capped USMNT player Kenny Saief, who signed with the Israeli powerhouse last December, started for the Greens and put in a 74-minute shift before being subbed off for Pierre Cornud as head coach Mesay Dego made three changes to shore up his defense after a Gent’s fortuitous equalizing goal, and the sending-off of defender Daniel Sundgren.
The Israelis took a very early lead with a fourth minute Frantzdy Pierrot strike, but then let their hosts back into the game thanks to the sending off and a close range shot that was deflected into the net, crediting central defender Abdoulaye Seck with the own-goal.
In a stadium that was empty except for journalists and the staff of both teams, Haifa didn’t waste any time in extending their lead from the first leg when their #9, was played forward on the right flank, turned his defender and put it into the back of Davy Roef’s net from the top right side of the 18 yard box. A slight deflection made sure that Belgian keeper was left dazed and confused with the shot.
In the 10th minute, the Buffaloes won a corner kick and it was a very dangerous ball that was whipped into the box but no one could get on the end of it. Minutes later Gent looked like they were going to score with nice ball movement in and around the Maccabi box, however it ended with Ismael Kandouss’ effort going wide of the post.
And this was to be the story for the hosts on the night with 14 shots, half of them missing the target completely. The next attack went the same, this time with Laurent Depoitre shooting wide.
The American then picked up a 23rd minute yellow card for an aggressive foul on Matisse Samoise. Having already gone up a goal early in the game, the Haifa game plan seemed to be to let the opponents have the ball, slow the game down and look to break on the counter. In the 28th minute this almost came to fruition when Pierrot played Anan Khalaili through, but the Israeli international was denied by the strong hand of Roef.
Just before the half Gent had another very good opportunity to score but although it was on target, Kandouss’ effort this time was not hit very well and other than a lack of a sting, it also went straight into the arms of Shareef Keouf, who made some half decent saves on the night.
The Belgian side came out to start the second half knowing that they needed at least two goals to send the game into extra time and penalties, or three if they were to win it outright. But it was Pierrot who had the first sniff at goal after the intermission when he should have done better with his header that didn’t trouble the defense.
After a series of fouls and a delay due to an injury picked up by Samoise, the next Gent attack was much like the others; Jong Hyun-Seok picked out Tarik Tissoudali but the Moroccan’s shot from the center of the box cleared the cross bar with room to spare. Haifa countered and had a chance of their own but Khalaili’s shot from outside the box was blocked.
Then came a flurry of chances in the 66th minute as the Buffaloes charged around the box and watched Keouf save Tissoudali’s shot that was heading for the bottom right hand corner, followed by the Gent captain getting the ball back, but having his follow-up blocked by a defender. The persistence and relentlessness paid off however when a close range shot hit Seck and ended up beating his own keeper. It was game on in the 69th minute.
After Sundgren’s sending off three minutes later for a second yellow, the hosts truly looked like they would force the game into extra time but Momodou Sonko failed to convert Tibe De Vlieger’s cross into the box, following Gent protocol and hitting it wide. Then an 85th-minute Ismael Kandouss’ header from the middle of the box missed the target. Pieter Gerkens and De Vlieger also had shots blocked, followed by another off target close range header by Stefan Mitrovic.
The assistant referee signaled four minutes of stoppage time, but even four hours would probably not be enough for the Flemish side who just couldn’t buy a goal on the night. The draw was not enough for them but sufficient for Maccabi who will wait to learn their opponents in the Round of 16.
Saief was at the press conference with his head coach but there were questions and answers in Hebrew and interpreted into Dutch.
Gent’s head coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck said that, “We had 60% possession and control in the first half but our centers didn’t get to us and we didn’t have a single shot on goal. We weren’t abominably bad but it wasn’t enough. I’m not going to dramatize this, especially knowing all the players we were missing.”
The Belgian did admit however that, “just because we said there was commitment, doesn’t mean things didn’t go wrong. Some players didn’t perform their duties perfectly.”
Maccabi Haifa, who sit at the top of Ligat Ha’al, Israel’s top division, will travel on Sunday afternoon to take on 12th place Ashdod.