kiryat shmona sneak past Žilina published: tuesday 24 july 2012, 21.15cet hapoel kiryat shmona fc 2-0 mšk Žilina (agg: 2-1) two goals in seven second-half minutes helped the israeli debutants overcome a one-goal deficit to reach the third qualifying round.
by mark laingold from itztadion kiryat eliezer
hapoel kiryat shmona fc have set up a uefa champions league third qualifying round tie with neftçi pfk after overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit against mšk Žilina.
the home side controlled the affair, but the game was goalless until vladimír leitner's 71st-minute own goal. shimon abihazira struck decisively soon after to confirm progress for the israeli debutants.
kiryat shmona pinned their opponents back for the entirety of the first half, david solari twice going close to scoring and sali hassarmi cracking an effort off the woodwork. with no luck immediately after the restart either, it did not look like it would be the hosts' day. then came the slice of fortune their attacking endeavour deserved.
el'ad gabai delivered a cross for ahmed abed, but leitner got there first and unwittingly deflected the ball into his own net. buoyed by the breakthrough, there was no stopping kiryat shmona, who made it two on 78 minutes, abihazira exploiting a defensive lapse to steal in and finish neatly.
