Hapoel Tel Aviv beat GKS Katowice 2:0 in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League on Wednesday evening. The match finished 2:0 after goals from Stav Turiel and Roé Alkoukin. It came after two draws and a win in their previous five games, while GKS Katowice had won three of their last five matches before this one.
Turiel opened the scoring in the fifth minute, and by then the visitors were already scrambling to find their shape. Alkoukin added a second in the eighteenth minute, and here's the thing — it wasn't a game of open running. GKS Katowice held 51 per cent possession but only managed two shots on target all evening.
GKS Katowice brought on A. Zrelak and E. Markovic in the fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh minutes, trying to change something. Hapoel Tel Aviv responded with D. Leidner and O. Altman sixty-six minutes in, and then E. Jirka came off for GKS Katowice in the seventy-first. The visitors pushed forward but found no answer.
Shots accuracy tells the story: Hapoel Tel Aviv hit 43 per cent of their attempts, GKS Katowice 33 per cent. The hosts registered six shots on target to two, and three corners against two. Both sides committed roughly the same number of fouls — fifteen and fourteen — and neither saw a card. Hapoel Tel Aviv made eight attacks more than their opponents.
The result keeps Hapoel Tel Aviv's qualifying hopes alive, while GKS Katowice have now lost their first European away fixture of this campaign. The hosts will take confidence from keeping a clean sheet, and the scoreline reflects a match they controlled rather than one they survived.