By, Danny Caro
1 min read
ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro
Israel lie second in Euro 2012 qualifying Group F following a goalless draw against Georgia in Tblisi on Tuesday night.
Having beaten Malta 3-1 at home on Saturday, Luis Fernandez’s troops adopted a cautious approach at the Boris Paichadze National Stadium, in a match played in front of 3,000 spectators.
A game of few chances saw Georgia, managed by former Newcastle favourite Temuri Ketsbaia, go closest when Gogita Gua rattled Dudu Awat’s crossbar with a scorching free-kick from 35 yards after 17 minutes.
The hosts, who had drawn with Greece in their opener at the weekend, ran out of ideas in the second half and although they finished the stronger, they rarely threatened the Georgian goal.
Israel’s next qualifer is against group leader Croatia on October 9.
Israel: Dudu Awat, Tal Ben Haim, Dani Bondarv, Biram Kayal, Almog Cohen, Lior Rafaelov (sub: Gil Vermouth 75), Dekel Keinan, Yossi Benayoun (capt), Ben Sahar (sub: 53), Dedi Ben Dayan, Tamir Cohen (sub: Eran Zahavi 61. Subs not used: Ohad Levita, Avihay Yadin, Eyal Golarsa, Yoav Ziv, Shlomi Arbeitman
Booked: Ben Haim 21, Dani Bondarv 69
Group F table
Croatia Pl. 2, Pts. 4
Israel Pl. 2, Pts. 4
Latvia Pl. 2, Pts. 3
Georgia Pl. 2, Pts. 2
Greece Pl. 2, Pts. 2
Malta Pl. 2, Pts. 0