Beersheba draws Southampton 1-1, wins spot in UEFA bracket

Israeli national league champion Hapoel advances to knockout stage of European soccer tournament

By ToI Staff 9 December 2016, 3:57 am 1

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Hapoel Beersheba's Maor Buzaglo scores against Southampton in a UEFA Europa League match on December 9, 2016. Beersheba drew 1-1. (screen capture: UEFA)

Israeli soccer team Hapoel Beersheba tied Thursday with British Premier League club Southampton, but the 1-1 final score was enough to put the Israeli national league champions into the next round.

After a goalless first half, Beersheba capitalized on a poor pass deep in Southampton territory. Maor Buzaglo rocketed the ball past the goalie in the 79th minute of the UEFA Europa League tournament game to take a 1-0 lead. Southampton’s Virgil Van Dijk equalized in penalty time.

Despite only coming up with a 1-1 draw, Beersheba advances to the knock-out stage of the Europa League. Beersheba finished second in the group stage with two wins and two draws, enough to clinch a spot in the next round.

Beersheba won the national soccer championship in May, breaking the desert town team’s 40-year drought.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, the other Israeli team in the tournament, won 2-1 Wednesday against Irish squad Dundalk FC, but the win wasn’t enough to make it out of Group D.