In a match filled with anticipation, Israeli team Hapoel Beer Sheva and Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia played to a 0-0 draw during the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.
With a crowd of 9,000 fans at Beer Sheva’s Toto Turner Stadium, Levski Sofia had close calls in the first half. In the 30th minute, Brazilian player Ricardinho’s attempt was brilliantly saved by Beer Sheva’s goalkeeper Ofir Marciano. Ten minutes later, another Brazilian, Welton, missed a promising scoring opportunity.
Goalkeeper Marciano continued to shine, making a crucial save in the 54th minute against a header from Brazilian player Ronaldo, according to Xinhua. Late attempts by Beer Sheva’s Bulgarian players Yoan Stoyanov and Amir Ganah were skillfully handled by Levski’s goalkeeper Plamen Andreev.
The second leg of the match is scheduled for August 17 in Sofia. The team with the higher aggregate score will advance to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the playoffs, which will be played over two legs.
In other matches, Tobol from Kazakhstan defeated Israel’s Derry 1-0, Struga from North Macedonia secured a 3-1 victory, Sabah from Azerbaijan overcame Serbia’s Partizan 2-0, and Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe from Romania drew 1-1 with Kazakhstan’s Aktobe.
-IANS
