In the the Europa League first - leg playoff match in Netanya, Hajduk suffered a minimal 2:1 defeat by Maccabi Tel Aviv. Once again, Hajduk's goal was under control of a great captain Lovre Kalinic, who after the game said:
"We are now repeating a situation that we had two years ago in the playoffs against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, where we arrived in Split with the same result. I hope this time we will gather strength and that the crowded stadium will help us take a lead and qualify in the much desired Europa League group stage. We didn't enter the match in the best possible way, but this is normal given the years that we have in the team. Unconsciously we played defensive, I was able to contribute to preserve a favorable result, but unfortunately I did not see the ball when they scored the first goal".
Hajduk's scored Ahmed Said Said is optimistic ahead of the second-leg match at Poljud:
"We have a great opportunity at Poljud. We must first get some rest and turn to the match against Rijeka, and then we will have to prepare everything well for the return match against Maccabi. They are a good team that plays fast football, which they showed in the first part. We went to play the second half with a different approach, we scored a goal, and we had a chance for another".
Here's what Maksim Bilyi said, who entered the game in 73rd minute, replacing Zvonimir Kozulj:
"We have our chances for return match, we have a good result and now we need to win at home, before a packed Poljud. For some players it was the first match at such a high level and that's why we played a bad first half. In the second half we played more aggressively, the coach told us to do make pressure and soon we scored a goal. In the second leg, there won't be Ben Chaim, but they have a lot of very good players that can decide the match. I hope this time we will not disappoint our fans at crowded Poljud stadium and that the tradition of poor results on such decisive matches is now behind us".
