Live Commentary: Southampton 1-1 Hapoel Be'er Sheva - as it happened

Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's crucial Europa League clash between Southampton and Hapoel Be'er Sheva at St Mary's Stadium. The final qualification spot from Group K is still up for grabs heading into this one, and it is a straight shootout for second place between these two sides. A win would guarantee progress, while a draw could also work for either side - all be revealed a little later on! For now, though, let's have a look at some team news...

SOUTHAMPTON STARTING XI: Forster; Cedric, Yoshida, Van Dijk, Bertrand; Romeu, Hojbjerg; Sims, Davis, Redmond; Austin

SOUTHAMPTON SUBS: Lewis, Clasie, Fonte, Long, Tadic, Ward-Prowse, McQueen

While we wait for the Be'er Sheva team news to filter through, let's see what we can expect from that Southampton side. Well, perhaps the most interesting thing about the team is that Jose Fonte only starts on the bench this evening amid speculation about his future at the club. The centre-back took to Instagram earlier this week to claim that the club had opted against offering him a new deal, and talk of the Portuguese's future also surfaced in the pre-match press conference. Whether his exclusion tonight is anything to do with that or simply a case of him being rested, only Claude Puel will know, but it is certainly an interesting decision for such a crucial game.

Replacing Fonte in the starting XI for the Saints this evening is Maya Yoshida, who fills in alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence. Van Dijk is another player who has been linked with a move away from the club recently, although that is less down to contract negotiations and more down to his fine form. Yoshida's inclusion is the only change in the back four, though, as Cedric and Bertrand continue on the flanks.

In all, Claude Puel has made three changes to the team that fell to that convincing defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at the weekend, with the other two coming in midfield. Romeu and Hojbjerg retain their places, but it is a memorable occasions for Josh Sims, who makes his first ever appearance in the Europa League. He comes into the side in place of James Ward-Prowse, who drops to the bench for this evening's game.

The third and final change to Southampton's starting XI this evening sees Sofiane Boufal drop out of the squad entirely, with Steven Davis taking his place instead. The initial lineup given out by Southampton is a little unclear as to what formation they will play with, but Puel has often deployed Nathan Redmond as a striker this season so it could be something akin to a 4-4-2 for the Saints. The players on the pitch could also feature in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, though, so it remains to be seen what Puel goes for.

Leading the line tonight will be Charlie Austin, who enters the match in relatively good form - at St Mary's at least. The striker has scored six goals in his last six starts at home in all competitions, and will fancy his chances of keeping that run going this evening. If extra firepower is needed, though, Southampton are able to welcome Tadic back into the matchday squad today. The winger has been sidelined since November after breaking his nose on international duty for Serbia against Wales, but he is available with a protective mask tonight.

BE'ER SHEVA STARTING XI: Goresh; Bitton, Vitor, Tzedek, Korhut; Radi, Ogu, Hoban; Buzaglo, Sahar, Nwakaeme

BE'ER SHEVA SUBS: Turgeman, Ghadir, Ohayon, Taha, Shabtai, Maranhao, Haimov

As for the visitors, the most recognisable name for many fans of English football is likely to be Ben Saha, who leads the line for Be'er Sheva tonight. He had a three-year spell at Chelsea between 2006-09, and while he never established himself in the first team at Stamford Bridge, he did also spend loan spells at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth. He has seven goals in nine league starts for Be'er Sheva this season too, so he knows where the goal is.

There is one other player for the visitors who boasts experience of playing in England, but it was a short-lived spell for Miguel Vitor. The Portuguese defender was at Leicester in 2010-11, and is also a compatriot and former teammate of Fonte. The two played together at Benfica in 2007-08, while the only other player link is that Sahar was teammates with Ryan Bertrand during their time together at Chelsea.

Be'er Sheva boss Bachar Barak has made just two changes to his side from the weekend, with Hoban and Sahar coming into the side. Hoban replaces Lucio Maranhao, despite the Brazilian scoring in the 5-0 win on Saturday, while Ohana is the man to drop out for Sahar, who was rested. Radi (2) and Buzaglo were also on the scoresheet at the weekend, while Nwakaeme has been just as deadly as Sahar in front of goal so far this season.

There are, then, players who could hurt Southampton if they get the chance this evening. However, despite Be'er Sheva impressive exploits at home and abroad recently - which I will come back to later - Southampton will still be the favourites heading into this contest. In terms of money and glamour there isn't really any competition between the Premier League and the Israeli league and, while Southampton have struggled a little to adapt to Claude Puel's methods so far, they are still expected to push for the top half this season.

Consistency has been the biggest problem for the Saints so far under Claude Puel - something perhaps best shown by their results in the last three games. They recorded back-to-back victories over Everton and Arsenal - the latter in the EFL Cup - but followed that up with a hugely disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Eagles had lost six on the bounce before that, but quite comfortably dispatched of Southampton for just their fourth home league win of 2016.

It is, therefore, very hard to judge what sort of form Southampton will be in. They have only won two of their last six outings in all competitions, losing three, but one thing they have been able to do so far is avoid going on a really poor run of form. They have not lost back-to-back matches since March, and if they avoid defeat tonight then they will keep that run going. Still, though, they need to focus on winning games rather than not losing them if they are to have success this term.

Things are shaping up alright for Southampton in the cup competitions in truth - they have already reached the EFL Cup semi-finals and are favourites to get through to the last 32 in this competition tonight. However, this is arguably the most competitive Premier League year in recent times and the Saints are only 12th in the table as things stand - not quite reaching the heights they had started to become accustomed to under Ronald Koeman. They are closer to the relegation zone than they are to the one guaranteed Europa League spot, although it should also be noted that they are only four points off sixth-placed Manchester United too.

It is easy to see where their problems lie in the Premier League too. They have only scored 13 goals in their 14 outings so far - the third-lowest tally in the league behind only relegation-threatened Burnley and Hull. There are no such problems at the other end of the field, where the only teams to have conceded fewer than them are the heavyweights of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, but they need to start scoring more goals if they are to climb the table.

The same is true in Europe, where Southampton have failed to score in three of their last four outings - although it should be noted that all three of those games have come away from home. Things are still solid defensively in Europe, though, with only Schalke out of the 48 teams in the group stages conceding fewer than Southampton after five games. The Saints have now conceded just seven goals in their last 11 European outings, including qualifiers, and never more than once in a game.

Southampton's main strengths come at home, where they have kept clean sheets in six of their last nine games in all competitions. Indeed, they have lost just one of their last 16 outings at St Mary's, winning 11 and drawing four of those, including notable victories over Liverpool, Manchester City and Inter Milan in that time. Chelsea, who have won at St Mary's twice, are the only visiting team to have come away with three points from this ground in 2016 - and the only visiting team to win any game here since the very first home match of the year for Southampton - an FA Cup clash with eventual runners-up Crystal Palace.

If that seems like a long-standing run, Southampton have not been beaten at home in Europe for more than 34 years, since a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Sporting Lisbon in October 1982. Granted, Southampton's European experience in that time has been limited to say the least, but it is still a seven-game unbeaten run that includes victories in both previous home games in this competition this term.

Ended a 34-year run could be fairly daunting for a team of Hapoel Be'er Sheva's size, but in terms of European experience there isn't really much to separate these two sides. They are both making their debut appearance in a UEFA competition group stage, and Be'er Sheva had only ever before reached the very opening rounds of a competition or qualifying. The shift of balance seems to be changing in Israeli football, though, so we could be seeing plenty more of them in the coming years.

Be'er Sheva were actually initially entered into the Champions League this season having won their domestic league title for the first time in 40 years last season - not a bad way for Barak to mark his first season in charge! It was only the third title in the club's history too, but they are very much on course to retain that crown and suddenly they look like the dominant force in Israeli, taking over from the likes of Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv.

After just 12 matches of their domestic season, Be'er Sheva are already a handy 10 points clear of Maccabi Tel Aviv in second place having dropped just five points all season so far. It would take a substantial slip-up, even at this early stage, for them to throw the title away now, but there have been no signs of that recently. They are on an eight-match winning streak in the league, the latest of which was a resounding 5-0 drubbing of Ashdod on Saturday.

Be'er Sheva are not just edging results either - that 5-0 weekend win is quickly becoming something close to the norm. They have now hit four or more goals in a game on seven separate occasions this season, so it is no surprise to see that they have comfortably the best attacking record in the division with 15 more goals scored than they next highest after only 12 games. They have scored exactly five goals in three of their last four league games and average more than three per game during their current eight-match winning run, while at the other end they also boast the best defence in the league with only five goals conceded from 12 games.

They come into tonight's match in flying form too having won their last six outings in all competitions since a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Group K winners Sparta Prague on November 3. They have scored two or more in each of those six wins, and looking even further back the only games they have failed to win since September 22 have come in this competition, which goes to show how dominant they are domestically at the moment.

Europe is, of course, another step up entirely from the Israeli league, but Be'er Sheva have done themselves proud in this competition so far. As I mentioned earlier, they started in the Champions League second qualifying round, beating Sheriff and Olympiacos before coming up against Brendan Rodgers's Celtic in the playoff. After losing the first leg 5-2 they almost launched a dramatic late comeback in the second, only to fall just short and lose 5-4 on aggregate. Since then, they have won two, drawn one and lost two of their Europa League group games to put them potentially 90 minutes away from the knockout stages.

By far the highlight of their campaign has been two famous victories over the Italian giants Inter Milan, who are still a massive scalp for any side despite being a shadow of their former selves at the moment. A 2-0 victory in the San Siro would have been a moment to savour for these Be'er Sheva players, but if anything they probably topped that in the home leg, coming from two goals down to score three goals in just over half an hour - including a 93rd-minute winner - to win 3-2 and turn tonight's game into the decider it is. Aside from those Inter wins, Be'er Sheva have also lost to Sparta home and away and drawn at home to Southampton 0-0.

Tonight's visitors are on decent form on the road, winning four of their last five away games in all competitions - more than they had managed to win in the previous 11 away games before that. All of those wins have come in the league, though, and their only defeat in that time came in this competition at the hands of Sparta Prague. Southampton will - or at least should - pose a more tougher test than Be'er Sheva are used to facing away from home in Israel, so it remains to be seen whether they can raise their game.

The Israeli outfit have only ever won one of their previous seven European away games including qualifiers, drawing two and losing four of those. Five of those away games have come this season, with three in the Champions League qualifiers - two draws and a loss - and two so far in the Europa League - a win and a defeat. They couldn't have chosen many better places to pick up that solitary victory on the road, though, doing so at the San Siro with a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at St Mary's, which means that it is time for a prediction! Be'er Sheva have done so well to make it this far and have shown that they are no pushovers, while their form suggests that they could be a threat tonight. However, Southampton should have enough to see themselves over the line, so I am going to go for a 2-0 home win.

Unsurprisingly, these two sides do not exactly have a long history of facing each other, with their clash on matchday two being their only previous meeting. That one ended 0-0 - which could prove crucial to what is required from both sides tonight. Be'er Sheva need to score if they are to progress here, but Maccabi Tel Aviv are the only Israeli side to have scored on their last five visits to England, with an aggregate score of 12-1 in that time.

Indeed, Be'er Sheva are chasing a slice of history tonight, aiming to become the first Israeli side to win a match on England soil. There have been eight previous visits, but they have only yielded two draws and six defeats - with those six defeats all coming in the last six games. Overall, home and away, Israeli sides have won just two of their 17 meetings with English opposition, losing 11, so history is very much against the visitors tonight.

However, Be'er Sheva do not necessarily require a win to progress this evening - a draw could be enough. If points are level in Europa League groups, positions are decided on head-to-head record, away goals scored in those head-to-head games and then goal difference. The permutations sound a little complicated, then, but in practice what it means is that either team would progress with a win, while a goalless draw would send Southampton through courtesy of their superior goal difference, while a score draw would send Be'er Sheva through because of their away goals scored in the head-to-head record.

Got it? Good. The players are on their way out to the field as we speak and we are just a couple of minutes away from kickoff on the South Coast. Before we get started, though, there will be a minute of silence for the victims of the tragic Chapecoense plane crash last week.

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Hapoel Be'er Sheva get us underway for this crucial Group K clash in the Europa League!

SAVE! An early half-chance for Southampton as Redmond floats a corner into the box that Austin gets his head to. It is a fairly form header too, but he has to generate all of the power himself and it is easy for the keeper to gather.

Be'er Sheva don't seem to be daunted by this trip to St Mary's - and why should they when they've won at the San Siro already this season? They are looking to get in amongst the Southampton players early on.

Good play from Be'er Sheva as they come forward down the left flank with Karhut charging up on the inside. He reaches the byline and plays a low ball into a dangerous area, but Forster gets down to make the interception.

Bright play from Sims as he spins his man before hanging a cross up towards Austin at the back post. Goresh comes for it but doesn't get a convincing touch, and he is fortunate that a defender is there to knock it behind for a corner.

It will be interesting to see how Southampton approach this match as time goes by. As things stand they are through, so the onus is on the visitors more than the hosts, but playing for a 0-0 draw can be a very dangerous tactic. So far there are no signs of them settling for a stalemate, though.

The first real glimpse of Sahar as he spins Romeu before powering past Van Dijk and to the edge of the box, only for Cedric to come across and stop the former Chelsea man in his tracks.

Southampton are seeing plenty of the ball in this match, but Be'er Sheva are staying in their shape and there haven't been any really clear chances for the hosts yet.

Hojbjerg tries to test the keeper with a long-range strike that is block, but Southampton keep possession and work it out to Cedric. He has five players to aim for in the box, but the final touch comes off a Be'er Sheva head and goes into the arms of the keeper.

Be'er Sheva are making sure that the middle of the pitch is very crowded, which means that Southampton's best work so far is coming down the flanks. They have got into some good positions in the wide areas, but their crosses are being dealt with so far.

CHANCE! The visitors get their first decent chance of the match as a cross from the left goes all the way through to Buzaglo at the back post. He takes a touch and goes for goal despite the angle being against him, but he leans back and blazes his shot over the crossbar. He should have done better there!

There has been a small tactical switch from Claude Puel, with Redmond and Sims switching flanks. Southampton are still controlling possession, but no way through so far.

UPDATE: There has been a goal in the group's other game, where Inter Milan have taken the lead against Sparta Prague through Eder.

Sahar chases a pass down the channel and goes down under the challenge of Yoshida, giving the visitors a free kick in a decent crossing position...

The delivery comes to nothing, but Southampton quickly launch a counter-attack, with Redmond leading the charge. He looks up to see Romeu as the only player with him, so he chooses to keep the ball himself. He reaches the byline before pulling it back for Romeu, but the cross is just too high for the midfielder to turn it goalwards.

We've had almost half an hour here and, as thing stand, Southampton are the team heading into the last 32. The match is so precariously perched for the Saints, though, as one goal for Be'er Sheva means that they will need to score twice to progress.

Be'er Sheva have done a good job keeping their shape and defending their penalty area so far tonight, but at some point they are going to have to take some more risks. That may still be more than half an hour away, but they can't focus on not conceding all night.

In truth, this game could do with a goal to get it going. A Be'er Sheva one would make things very interesting, whereas a Southampton one wouldn't change Be'er Sheva's objective at all.

Not for the first time tonight, Bitton throws himself to the floor dramatically, claiming that he was caught in the face by Austin. As expected, the replay shows nothing to warrant such a reaction, although there was contact.

SAVE! Southampton have a rare shot on goal as Redmond finds himself in a bit of space around 25 yards from goal. He puts the ball onto his right and tries to curl one into the far corner, but it is a nice height for the keeper and he pushes it away.

Charlie Austin rises highest from the resulting corner and plants a header comfortably wide at the back post, but he lands awkwardly and looks to be in serious pain holding his shoulder here.

SOUTHAMPTON SUB: Indeed, Austin will not be able to continue here. He goes off with what looks like a dislocated striker, and on comes Shane Long in his place.

Southampton were playing some decent football, at least down the wings, in the early stages, but now it has all slowed up a bit and players are passing and not moving again. They are keeping the ball well enough, but doing nothing special to knock on the Be'er Sheva door.

YELLOW CARD! The first card of the night goes to Ogu for a cynical foul to stop a Southampton break.

Sims has been one of the brightest sparks in this Southampton side tonight, although that isn't saying much. He has looked to make something happen every time he has got on the ball, albeit with limited success.

There will be a minimum of two minutes added time at the end of this first half.

YELLOW CARD! Vitor is the second name in the book for a heavy and mistimed sliding challenge on Long.

SAVE! Redmond takes on the resulting free kick from almost 30 yards out, and he gets it over the wall and back down again. It also bounces just in front of the keeper to make it a little more difficult, but it is still a fairly comfortable gather.

The referee brings an end to the first half at St Mary's then, and we're still all square at 0-0 between Southampton and Hapoel Be'er Sheva. This scoreline would send Southampton through, but they would be creeping through with a whimper as things stand and would leave themselves vulnerable to a Be'er Sheva goal effectively worth two in the second half if they play for a goalless draw.

It has not been a thriller by any means so far, with clear chances very few and far between. The best opening has probably gone to Be'er Sheva when a cross from the left arrived all the way through to Buzaglo, but he lacked composure inside the area and blazed his effort over the crossbar. He had options in the middle, but you can understand why he went for goal himself - he just should have done better with it.

At the other end, Southampton are yet to have a really clear chance, but they have at least tested the keeper on a few occasions. Austin had one header in the opening minutes that was straight at Goresh, who also made a routine stop from a Redmond free kick right on the stroke of half time. His most taxing save came 10 minutes before the interval when Redmond curled an effort towards goal, but it was a nice height for the keeper to push it away.

Arguably the closest Southampton have come to creating a really good chance came on a rare counter-attack when Redmond led the charge upfield, only to ignore the run of Romeu inside when the midfield would have been through on goal. Instead he reached the byline and cut a cross back into the middle that Romeu then could not reach. There was also a moment of bad news for Southampton when Austin was forced off with what looks like a dislocated shoulder, being replaced by Shane Long.

KICKOFF: Southampton get us back underway for the second half and, as things stand, they are just 45 minutes away from the last 32.

YELLOW CARD! Bertrand gets a yellow early in the half for a challenge on Buzaglo.

Yoshida is forced into a couple of clearances in quick succession as Be'er Sheva get the ball in the Southampton box, but both were fairly leisurely under no pressure.

CHANCE! Yoshida is called upon again here, and this time it is a much more important block. A shot deflects into the path of Sahar inside the area and he brings it under control, but just as he is about to pull the trigger Yoshida dives in to make the block.

Almost a half-chance for Southampton at the other end too as Hojbjerg flicks a free kick on to Van Dijk, but he can't bring it under control before it is hacked behind for a corner.

The ball drops to Hojbjerg around 30 yards from goal and he just cannot turn down the volley, but he almost boots it out of the stadium it is so far over. We've all been there Hojbjerg!

Very nearly a chance for Southampton once again as Redmond gives the ball out wide to Bertrand, who in turn plays it in low towards the near post. Long gets in front of his man, but can't get a toe on it before the defender smuggles it behind for a corner.

BE'ER SHEVA SUB: The visitors make their first change of the evening as Mohammad Ghadir replaces Hoban.

Southampton had just been starting to knock on the door in the last five minutes or so, but they have now lost a bit of momentum again.

Radi goes down and stays down, but Southampton refuse to kick the ball out and, after a moment where everyone stops, they chooses to play on and are cheered for doing so. The ball eventually arrives to Bertrand, but he blazes his shot a long way high and wide.

SOUTHAMPTON SUB: Change for the hosts here as Sims makes way to be replaced by Dusan Tadic, complete with protective face mask.

YELLOW CARD! Tzedek also goes into the book - the third Be'er Sheva player to have his name taken tonight.

Some last-gasp defending from Be'er Sheva here! First Tadic looks to have created himself a bit of space to shoot, only for his effort to be deflected and then nodded away, before Cedric's subsequent low cross is ten cleared away moments later.

Redmond has not had the best game tonight at all. His decision-making has been very suspect at times, wasting some good positions by making the wrong call.

Southampton have looked a little more threatening in this second half, without testing the keeper too much. They are certainly looking more likely to score than the visitors are.

BE'ER SHEVA SUB: The visitors make their second change as Lucio Maranhao replaces Sahar.

CHANCE! The biggest chance of the night so far falls to Van Dijk! The finds a little bit of space in the box to get on the end of a corner just six or seven yards from goal, with the keeper behind him and the goal gaping. However, he just can't climb high enough and glances it wide.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Maranhao just a couple of minutes after coming on as he gets his head on a cross from the right, but his effort is never troubling Forster.

We have less than 20 minutes remaining in this match now, and it is surely nearing the time where Be'er Sheva will make their move. Southampton's nerves will be growing now, and ever a goal won't do much to settle them as the visitors would still only need one themselves.

In truth, 0-0 is probably a fair reflection of this match. It has not been a classic by any stretch of the imagination and goalscoring chances really have been at a premium.

Nearly a worrying moment for Southampton as Yoshida miscontrols the ball and then plays a back-pass to Forster that interests a couple of strikers before Forster clears it low and narrowly past the two Be'er Sheva players. That was not far from being calamitous!

BE'ER SHEVA SUB: A third and final change from the visitors sees Yuval Shabtai replace Korhut.

Ohhhhh Southampton what have you done?! Having been under-par all game, the hosts are stung late on and are now on the brink of crashing out! It is self-inflicted to an extent too as Romeu gives the ball away in a dangerous area, before it is worked out to Buzaglo. Take nothing away from the finish as Buzaglo picks out the bottom far corner perfectly, but Southampton may have thrown this one away now!

YELLOW CARD! Goresh goes into the book for time wasting, and I doubt that will be the last we've seen of that!

A reminder, then, that Southampton now need two goals to progress - not easy when you haven't looked like scoring all night!

SOUTHAMPTON SUB: The hosts make their third and final change as James Ward-Prowse replaces Hojbjerg.

There really doesn't seem to be any way back for Southampton here, to be honest. They will need to drastically improve from what they have shown in the match up to this point, and there haven't been any signs of that since the goal so far.

For Hapoel Be'er Sheva, by the way, this would be a moment of history. Indeed, for all of Israeli football it would be historic as none of their teams have ever won on English soil before. Not bad in the same campaign as beating Inter Milan home and away!

CHANCE! A late chance for Southampton as Tadic hangs a cross up into the middle which Yoshida meets, but his header is straight at the keeper.

There will be a minimum of three minutes added time at the end of this match. Surely too late for Southampton now!

Hope for Southampton! The ball arrives to Van Dijk in the box and he controls it well before passing a deflected effort past the keeper!

CHANCE! Oh Southampton are so close to the most dramatic of comebacks! Ward-Prowse swings a beauty of a cross into the box and it is Yoshida who meets it, but he glances his header just, just wide.

Wow, what a finish to that game! It looked like being a bore draw for the most part, but Buzaglo's goal really sparked things into life and we almost had an incredible end to the match. Van Dijk gave Southampton a glimmer of hope by pulling one back in the 91st minute and Yoshida was inches away from getting the second they needed in the 93rd. As it is, though, Southampton were punished for their earlier lack of ambition and they go crashing out of the Europa League, while Be'er Sheva go marching into the last 32!

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match, which was a slow burner but it's safe to say it got going in the end! After all that, though, Southampton are out of the competition on the head-to-head rule and Be'er Sheva go through. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction on site shortly. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!