Koopmeiners and Meerdink secure AZ’s 2-1 Europa League win

AZ Alkmaar defeated Hapoel Beer Sheva 2-1 in UEFA Europa League League Stage - 2, with Mexx Meerdink’s 77th-minute penalty settling the match.

Three goals after the break

The opener arrived in the 49th minute, when Peer Koopmeiners put AZ Alkmaar 1-0 ahead, assisted by Valdemar Byskov Andreasen. Hapoel Beer Sheva responded in the 55th minute as Forson Amankwah made it 1-1, with zahi ahmed providing the assist.

Meerdink then restored AZ Alkmaar’s lead from the penalty spot in the 77th minute for the final 2-1 scoreline. He had entered in the 76th minute for Bendegúz Kovács and finished with a 7.8 rating across 14 minutes.

AZ controlled the attacking numbers

AZ Alkmaar had 58% possession, completed 499 accurate passes and recorded 15 shots to Hapoel Beer Sheva’s six. Their 2.75 expected goals also exceeded Hapoel Beer Sheva’s 1.09. The visitors still tested the hosts with four shots on goal, while AZ registered seven.

Pedro Miguel Santos Amador, Seiya Maikuma, Eilel Peretz, Ayoub Oufkir, Djibril diop, Calvin Stengs, Denso Kasius and Adrián Ugarriza received yellow cards across the match. Both teams finished with four yellow cards and no red cards.

Table position and form

AZ Alkmaar are ranked #20 with 3 points from 2 games, while Hapoel Beer Sheva are ranked #25 with 1 points from 2 games. AZ are 2 points ahead of Hapoel. The pre-match form was Loss, Win for AZ and Draw, Loss for Hapoel. Koopmeiners was the standout performer, rated 8.2 after 90 minutes, with one goal.