HAPOEL Be’er Sheva are already enjoying their best season in Europe, after doing a Leicester City last season.

They qualified for the Champions League qualifiers by winning their first Israeli Premier League title for 40 years and responded by beating Greek giants Olympiacos.

Their European record includes a 7-0 home defeat to Barcelona in the 1995-96 UEFA Cup and a 10-0 humbling by Dutch outfit Roda JC in 1997.

Daily Echo: Hapoel Be'er Sheva's Ben Bitton (left) and celtic's Kieran Tierney during the UEFA Champions League play-off

But after beating Russian outfit FC Sheriff Tiraspol 3-2 on aggregate in the Champions League’s second qualifying round, a goal from defender Shir Tzedek gave them a 1-0 aggregate win against Olympiacos – the best result in the club’s history – after a goalless away draw in the first leg.

It set up a play-off round against Celtic, which they only lost 5-4 on aggregate, after trailing 3-0 at half-time during the first leg at Celtic Park.

They were back in the game when Brazilian striker Lúcio Maranhão and winger Maor Melikson reduced the deficit in front of a 52,000-plus crowd.

Late goals from Moussa Dembele and Scott Brown denied Hapoel Be’er Sheva, put Celtic 5-2 up and ended any realistic chance of going through.

But they were given a 21st-minute lead by Ben Sahar in the second leg. Romanian international midfielder Ovidiu Hoban set up a thrilling climax when he doubled the lead in the 48th minute, to reduce the aggregate score to 4-5.

Daily Echo:

It was not to be, but Hapoel Be’er Sheva is a club on the rise. It has been for a decade under Alona Barkat, the first woman to own and run an Israeli football club. Her appointment last summer of Barak Bachar, their 36-year-old manager, took them to the next level.

A run of 17 wins and two draws in 19 games secured them the title, by three points from Maccabi Tel Aviv.

They have an influential midfielder in Nigerian international John Ogu and former Chelsea starlet Sahar is also one to watch.

The pacy forward is the one Hapoel Be’er Sheva player with experience of English football and has spent time on the south coast before.

A 27 year-old striker, he spent his late teens at Chelsea, from where he was loaned to Pompey in 2008, without making an appearance when Saints’ rivals were still in the Premier League.

After playing in pre-season against the likes of Havant & Waterlooville and Gosport Borough, having also made substitute appearances for Chelsea against Wigan, Manchester United and Everton the previous season, he made no secret of his frustration at Fratton Park.

“If I had played a few games and they said I wasn’t good enough, then fine,” he said. “But the fact is that I haven’t been given that chance to shine.”

Sahar will hope for the chance to shine on the south coast on December 8, when Saints play their final game in group K.

The stadium

Daily Echo:

HaMoshava Stadium, Petah Tikva

HAPOEL Be’er Sheva play at The Turner Stadium, a 16,000 capacity arena where Celtic and Olympiacos have lost without scoring in the Champions League this season.

It was opened last September and is a big reason for the club’s incredible 2015-16 season, which saw them stun Israeli football by winning its Premier League title.

Situated in the northern outskirts of Be’er Sheva, far from the old Vasermil Stadium in the town centre, it is not dissimilar in style to some of the newer Football League grounds.

The original stadium was named after Arthur Vasermil, a seven year-old boy who was murdered in a concentration camp in 1943, after his mum Lilly bankrolled its renovation.

One of the stands in the new stadium is also named after Vasermil. The stadium itself is named after former mayor Yaakov Turner.

The city

Daily Echo: The outlook to the waterfront and city from old Jaffa

BE’ER SHEVA is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel.

The city of 200,000 people is slightly off the beaten track for most British tourists with visitors often simply stopping at the southern Israeli transport hub to transfer between the main train services from the north and the southbound bus services.

But Saints fans eager to take the 6,000-mile round-trip can experience a desert-city which is at the crossroads of ancient trade routes and close to some of the holiest sites in the world.

The industrial and university hub is often referred to as the “Capital of the Negev” – and is a gateway to the wider Negev desert region which has been an ancient trade route for millennia where ancient incense traders transported precious cargo of frankincense and myrrh from south Arabia to the Mediterranean.

And in modern times desert activities such as hiking, cycling, camel riding, 4x4 drives and wine routes are rapidly growing in popularity.

Be’er sheva grew to prominence under Ottoman Turkish rule in the 19th Century and began rapidly expanding in the 1960s.

The city retains hallmarks of Turkish rule, plus Muslim and Jewish culture and some of landmarks to visit include the Negev Museum of Art, the city’s first mosque – which was built in 1906.

The city’s marker hosts modern stalls, alongside authentic Bedouin stalls selling unique copper products, glassware, jewellery, beads and precious stones, as well as mats, carpets, cushions, and the like.

The Centre for Ethiopian Craftsmanship where new immigrant women preserve the ancient handicraft traditions of Ethiopian Jewry.

The wider Negev region offers the chance to visit ruins of the dramatically sited Nabataean cities that were built along this trade route.

Daily Echo: The rock valley

There are also many vineyards and artisanal food producers establishing themselves in the region with the Makhtesh Ramon is now marketed as a wine route and is a popular weekend getaway for Israeli city dwellers.

After travelling all that way fans could use the city as a launchpad to visit the wider Israeli area with the holy city of Jerusalem less than two hours away.

The international city is home to sites of key religious significance, including the Western (Wailing) Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Dome of the Rock, plus countless stalls in the narrow streets of the Old City bazaar, and visit the site of Jesus’ crucifixion.

A short distance from Jerusalem is the Deas Sea where people can easily float in the warm salty water and smother mineral rich Dead Sea mud on themselves for health benefits.

Further north is the Israeli capital Tel Aviv with rich cultural history and thriving markets and bazaars.

To the south is the Red Sea where snorkellers and scuba divers can explore the extensive the coral reef, beautiful fish, and crystal-clear water all year round.

Be’er sheva has characteristics of both Mediterranean and desert climates. Summers are hot and dry, but late autumn and winter is mild and rainfall is highly concentrated between September to May, but the annual amount is low.

Sandstorms, haze and fog are common, especially in winter, as a result of the high humidity.

How to get there

Daily Echo:

The away tie at Hapoel Beer Sheva is likely to be the most difficult to reach. 

The city of Beersheba in Israel is just over 100km for the nearest international airport, Tel Aviv. 

Direct flights from London Luton to Tel Aviv take five hours and cost in the region of £330.

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