Garcia faces a Greek test

FOOTBALL Maccabi Tel Aviv will play Greek side Asteras Tripolis in the Europa League play-offs as the Israeli side seek to reach the group stage for the second successive season.

The first match will be in Greece on Thursday with the “home” leg probably in Cyprus on August 28.

Maccabi manager Oscar Garcia said: “This is a very tough draw against a team that knocked out German opposition Mainz in the previous round. The fact that we probably won’t be able to play at home makes the draw even tougher.”

Hapoel Kiryat Shmona became the third Israeli team to tumble out of the Europa League, beaten 2-1 by Dinamo Moscow in the “home” leg in Cyprus last week for a 3-2 aggregate defeat.