This morning’s Champions League draw paired Celtic against Israeli side Hapoel Beer Sheva in the playoff round.
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side booked their place after a dramatic victory over Astana at Parkhead on Wednesday night, with Moussa Dembele’s superb run and last-minute penalty sending the Hoops through.
Hapoel Beer Sheva poise the next challenge, and despite this being their first time in the Champions League, once again things will be unlikely to prove easy for the Bhoys.
Dethroning Maccabi Tel Aviv to stop their fourth title in a row and winning the Israeli league for the first time in 40 years, Beer Sheva have become a force.
Massive underdogs in the last round, they travelled to Greece and picked up a great result with a scoreless draw with Olympiacos.
The return leg saw Beer Sheva dominate, limit the favourites to few chances for an away goal, and show character by not giving up on the crucial winner.
80 minutes struck on the clock as defender Shir Tzedek produced a superb half-volley into the back of Stefanos Kapino’s net to send the crowd at the Turner Stadium into raptures.
Beer Sheva lost just three games last season, once in their backyard, and Celtic face the prospect of having to travel to their opponents in the second leg. That could hand an advantage to the home side, who will know by then what they must achieve in front of their supporters.
Away points are key to title campaigns and picking up a vital one in Tel Aviv at the home of their nearest challengers deep into the season is a hint that they won’t be fazed about a European night at Parkhead.
Scoring 66 goals and conceding 24 is a record to be proud of for a side that finished third in 2014-15. In Barak Bakhar they have a supremely intelligent manager, who caught the players’ confidence and led them to the title in his first season.
Defensive structure is key in the well coached and well organised team. The intelligent, patient and calm football Bakhar brought was ambitious but ultimately led to sweet rewards.
Celtic will have to watch out for John Ogu moving forward – the defensive midfield rock provides the perfect balance between defence and attack. Meanwhile, Elyaniv Barda leads terrifically on the pitch with his 18 years of professional experience.
The Scots struggled to contain Astana’s trickiness, especially in the first leg. They should expect more of the same when they come up against Beer Sheva with speedy wingers led by Tony Nwakame, dangerous on the counter.
Celtic have choked in Europe the last few years but now they have a massive chance to progress, two games from the group stage. They will face a tough obstacle, though, in the Israeli champions.
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