Hapoel Tel Aviv reaches Champions League

Hapoel Tel Aviv reaches Champions League

Published Aug. 24, 2010 10:19 p.m. ET

Hapoel Tel Aviv qualified for the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in its history on Tuesday after holding FC Salzburg to a 1-1 draw at home.

The result gave Hapoel a 4-3 aggregate victory over the two legs of the playoff.

Douglas da Silva scored an own goal just before halftime to gift the Austrians the lead on the night, but Eran Zahavi equalized for Hapoel in injury time.

Salzburg had the best of the opening exchanges, although it took until the 30th minute for them to engineer a clear opportunity, with Gonzalo Zarete racing on to a through ball and unleashing a powerful shot that only just missed the target.

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The visitors scored three minutes before the break when a defensive mix-up led to Hapoel defender da Silva knocking the ball past his own goalkeeper.

After a tense start to the second half, Gil Vermouth came within inches of equalizing for Hapoel in the 64th minute, when his stinging shot from inside the penalty area hit the post.

As the game went on, the home side grew in confidence, while Salzburg were frustrated in their attempts to force the extra goal that would have sent them into the Champions League.

A minute into injury time, Zahavi capitalized on a tired Salzburg defense to level the score and restore Hapoel's aggregate advantage.

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