Bold Maribor come up short against Maccabi

NK Maribor finished the game with four strikers bearing down on the Maccabi Haifa FC penalty area, but came up two goals short in their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie.

After winning the home leg 1-0, Maccabi doubled their advantage after ten minutes through Idan Vered, but while captain Marcos was able to level things up on the night, that away goal was to prove the Slovenian champions' undoing, despite the best efforts of a passionate home crowd and an increasingly cavalier formation.

Vered had already stung Jasmin Handanovič's palms with a free-kick before he put the visitors in front, stealing the ball out on the right and embarking on a 45-metre run before beating the goalkeeper from the narrowest of angles.

Maribor were not entirely stymied, and Robert Berič came close before his side profited from a goalmouth scramble on 32 minutes, with Marcos forcing the ball into the net after Nir Davidovitch failed to deal with the Brazilian's initial effort. Berič and Dejan Mezga were to have further efforts as hopes rose in Maribor.

The half-time interval, however, allowed Maccabi to regroup, and despite the crowd's exhortations, Maribor were on the back foot thereafter as first Bamidele Yampolsky and then Vered took aim, with Handanovič called on to box away Gustavo Boccoli's free-kick.

Maribor wet for broke in the final stages, but Martin Milec's powerful shot cannoned into team-mate Berič, and while substitute Etien Velikonja got his head to Ibraimi's corner deep into added time, his headed effort just grazed the bar on its way over.