Barda back to haunt Haifa

Haifa will hope they can pull off a repeat performance of their early display, when they dominated Genk with some fast and flowing one-touch football.

Elisha Levi's side got off to the perfect start.

Genk were left shellshocked as in-form strike duo Weeam Amasha and Vladimir Dvalishvili ran them ragged, with both netting inside the half-hour.

Amasha's eighth minute opener - his fourth of the qualifying campaign - looked to have set the tone for the evening as the home side roared out of the traps.

Dvalishvili then smashed the crossbar with a rasping free-kick before doubling Haifa's advantage, turning home Eyal Golasa's pinpoint cross.

As the Greens pressed forward in search of a third, Amasha and Golasa both wasted decent opportunities.

Those misses were to prove crucial as old boy Barda wriggled free of the Haifa defence to fire a crucial away goal just past the hour mark.

It reflected a markedly improved second-half performance by Genk, who are set to welcome back Chelsea target Kevin de Bruyne for Tuesday's second leg.

Only a stunning last-gasp save by Nir Davidovitch prevented Kennedy Nwanganga from claiming a dramatic equaliser.

Haifa are expected to have defender Jurica Buljat back from suspension for the second leg. Former Bolton man Tamir Cohen is pushing for a start.