Ghana's Forson Amankwah hit his first Hapoel Beer Sheva goal in the Europa League, only for AZ Alkmaar to win it from the spot late on.
Ghanaian midfielder Forson Amankwah has announced himself on the European stage with his first goal for Hapoel Beer Sheva. It wasn't enough to save his side from a painful Europa League defeat away to AZ Alkmaar.
AZ struck first, with Peer Koopmeiners finding the net four minutes after the restart. Amankwah answered six minutes later, scoring to level the game and give the Israeli visitors real belief.
The decider came with 13 minutes left. Mexx Meerdink kept his composure from the penalty spot to give the Dutch hosts a late win and leave Beer Sheva with nothing to show for their fightback.
The loss shouldn't overshadow a bright start for the Norwich City loanee, who has now scored three goals in six games for his new club. The West Africa Football Academy product is rebuilding the form that made Norwich beat off other suitors to sign him from Red Bull Salzburg. His timing is good too. Ghana had a rough start to the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which cost coach Carlos Queiroz his job, and the next manager is expected to look at players like Amankwah ahead of next month's qualifiers.
