Red Star Fails to Beat Hapoel Despite Extra Man
Red Star lost 1-0 to Hapoel in Szombathely after debutant Luckassen's error, and an hour with a man advantage produced no goal. The return leg is August 11 at Marakana.
Serbian journalists who traveled to Szombathely were told that Strahinja Erakovic would face them after the match. The correction came fast: the Red Star centre back was not speaking to the press that night. Nobody else was, either. None of the 25 players in the squad stepped in front of the cameras, so the only voice from the red and white camp that evening belonged to the coach.
Red Star lost 1-0 to Hapoel Beer Sheva in the first leg of the third round of Champions League qualifying, and it lost while playing a full hour with a man advantage.
Why Was the Match Played in Hungary?
Because Hapoel plays its home matches in European competition outside Israel. Hosting duties moved to the Haladas Stadium in Szombathely, where roughly 1,200 spectators turned up on August 4. Our preview of the match said the first leg would be played in front of a half empty stand, and that is exactly how it played out. Red Star won a match away from a real home crowd, without a proper atmosphere and without having to travel to Israel. It did not cash in the advantage of a neutral ground.
One Pass Decided the Night
Dejan Stankovic started with Mateus in goal, a back four of Seol, Erakovic, Derrick Luckassen and Tiknizyan, a midfield pairing of Krunic and Abu Fani, and Bukari, Kostov, Ivanic and Duarte up front.
In the 38th minute, Mateus played the ball out to Luckassen. The debutant in the red and white shirt lost track of Zahi Ahmad behind him. Hapoel’s forward stripped him of the ball and found the net. It was the only goal of the match and, as it turned out, the only real moment in ninety minutes.
Before that, Red Star had created three serious chances and converted none of them. Goalkeeper Ofir Marciano had already played a match worth points in that first half, before his team was even down to ten men.
An Hour With a Man Advantage, and Not a Single Goal
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano called two fouls on Baltaxa within seconds of each other in the 58th minute, first on Bukari, then on Seol, and showed him a second yellow card. From that point Hapoel defended its lead with ten men for more than half an hour.
Stankovic had already used three substitutions by halftime:
- Timi Max Elsnik for Mirko Ivanic
- Mohamed Cham for Mohamed Abu Fani
- Marko Arnautovic for Vasil Kostov
Cham threatened from distance in the 60th minute, but Marciano saved. In the 72nd minute, Eliel Perec put the ball in Red Star’s net, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Two minutes later came the last two substitutions, Aleksandar Katai and Loizos Loizou, for Bukari and Duarte.
The biggest drama arrived in the 80th minute, when Manzano first showed Luckassen a straight red card, then reversed it to yellow after a video review. Had the first decision stood, Red Star would have played the closing stages ten against ten, alongside a man who had already made the decisive mistake earlier in the match.
Stankovic Took the Blame Himself
The coach was open to questions after the match. The first one was about Luckassen.
“Maybe, maybe not. We know what kind of player he is, and yes, that mistake happened,” Stankovic said, then added: “I take the responsibility. I picked the players who started.”
When reporters returned to the same subject, he cut it short.
“Let me close the subject of Luckassen. He is a phenomenal, experienced player, he came in tired from the World Cup. I will get a much better version of him in the return leg.”
On the first half, the weakest part of Red Star’s performance, he said: “A bit weaker, with three good chances. It did not look like we were dominant, but we could have scored.”
He was also asked about the timing of the last substitutions, since Katai and Loizou did not come on until the 74th minute, by which point Hapoel had already dropped deep.
“Maybe, maybe. I believed in the quality of Katai and Loizou. I went for pure quality,” he answered.
This is Stankovic’s fourth attempt to take Red Star into the Champions League group stage. He has failed the previous three times, and that question came at the very end of the press conference.
“There is always pressure at Red Star. Football will not stop if I fail to reach the Champions League a fourth time.”
What Awaits Red Star on August 11
The return leg is played on August 11 at the Rajko Mitic Stadium. Red Star needs a one goal win to level the tie, and at least two to settle it inside the regular ninety minutes.
The math is simple, but the message from Szombathely is harder to take than the math suggests. The team had a man advantage, had more than half an hour against a low block, and did not score. Marciano has already shown that a shot from distance does not trouble him, and Hapoel has shown that playing without the ball does not trouble it either.
On August 11, Marakana will be the first and only stadium in this tie that is actually full. That is the one advantage Red Star did not have in Szombathely, and it will need it from the first minute, not from the 70th, as in Hungary.
