An 81st minute strike from Biram Kayal kept Israel's hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2012 finals alive as they overcame Latvia in Tel Aviv.

Luis Fernandez's men forged ahead in what was a must-win game after 16 minutes when striker Elyaniv Barda fired home.

But the Bloomfield Stadium was thrown into a stunned silence just after the hour when Latvia captain Kaspars Gorkass equalised.

Celtic midfielder Kayal rescued the hosts with a strike that gave them their first win in four games. The result leaves the Israel fourth, four points behind of group leaders Greece, who went top thanks to an added-time winner in Malta.

Israel host Georgia on Tuesday night knowing victory would lift them to third.

Israel: Dudu Awat, Tal Ben Haim, Rami Gershon, Bebras Natcho, Biram Kayal, Lior Refaelov (sub: Gil Vermouth), Elyaniv Barda (sub: Maor Bazaglo), Talb Twatha, Yoav Ziv (sub: Ben Sahar), Itzhak Cohen, Omar Damari