The Bulgarian midfielder Andrian Kraev and his Hapoel Tel Aviv secured a place in the next phase of Conference League, despite a dramatic loss in the second leg of the third qualifying round.
Meanwhile, the other native representative in the tournament – goalkeeper Plamen Andreev, watched from the bench the heavy crash of the Hungarian Debrecen.
Kraev with full 90 minutes in Poland
Former Levski midfielder Andrian Kraev started as a starter for the Israeli giants in the away game against Polish GKS Katowice. The Israelis opened the scoring through Stav Turiel, but the hosts came back to win 2:1 after late goals by Ilya Shkurin and Jendrych (information from the sports department of Bulgarian National Radio – bnr.bg/main/post/514946/apoel-s-kraev-v-sastava-prodalzhava-v-ligata-na-konferentsiite).
Despite the defeat in the second leg, Apoel Tel Aviv advances to the playoff round with an aggregate score of 3:2, thanks to a clean 2:0 victory in the first leg. In the decisive dispute for entry into the main phase of the tournament, Kraev and company will face the Italian Atalanta.
Plamen Andreev remained on the bench in the defeat in Copenhagen
The fate of the young goalkeeper Plamen Andreev was radically different. Contrary to expectations, the former goalkeeper of the “Blues“, who guarded in the first match (lost 0:3), this time remained a reserve at the expense of the 20-year-old Hungarian colleague Mark Erdeli (according to Bulgarian Telegraph Agency – bta.bg/bg/news/sport/1184444-apoel-s-kraev-v-sastava-prodalzhava-napred-v-liga-na-konferentsiite-vrataryat-p).
The change under the frame did not help Debrecen. The Hungarian team suffered another heavy blow and was defeated by the Danish giants FC Copenhagen with 1:5 at the “Parken“ stadium. Thus, with a total score of 1:8, Debrecen ended its European participation for this season, and Andreev will have to concentrate on his performances in the Hungarian championship.