Sabah FK secured their place after winning the two-legged tie 6-4 on aggregate. The Azerbaijani side won the second leg 5-2, overturning a 2-1 defeat from the first match.
In the return leg in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sabah FK made a difficult start when Zlatanovic opened the scoring for Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the 10th minute following an error in defence.
However, the hosts continued to push for an equaliser. In the 38th minute, Mickels came close after connecting with a cross into the penalty area, but his effort was saved by the goalkeeper. His teammate, Nwachukwu, reacted quickly to score the rebound, sending Sabah FK into the break level at 1-1.
Hapoel Be’er Sheva regained the lead in the 61st minute, but Sabah FK refused to give up. Umarali Rakhmonaliev scored in the 74th minute to make it 2-2.
Late in the match, Tellur Mutallimov scored Sabah FK’s third goal, bringing the aggregate score to 4-4 and forcing the tie into 30 minutes of extra time.
Sabah FK took control in extra time after Hapoel Be’er Sheva were reduced to 10 men following a red card. Patrick Orphe scored the fourth goal in the 101st minute before Mickels sealed the victory in the 115th minute, scoring Sabah FK’s fifth goal of the night.
Mickels played the full 120 minutes, registering eight shots, including two on target. He scored once and also struck the crossbar during an impressive individual performance.
The victory earned Sabah FK a place among the 36 teams competing in the UEFA Champions League League Phase, where they could face some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
Mickels has now become the first Rwandan footballer in history to reach this stage of Europe’s premier club competition. Before him, no Rwandan player had featured in the Champions League League Phase.
The achievement was also historic for Sabah FK, which became the second Azerbaijani club to reach the competition’s League Phase after Qarabağ.
Sabah FK will learn their opponents for the League Phase following the draw scheduled to take place in Monaco, France, on Thursday.
