Hard to begrudge Israel

Israel - 1 Republic of Ireland - 1: Almost five years after the Republic of Ireland let a two-goal lead slip in Amsterdam and the team's manager differed publicly with his captain over whether it had been a point gained or two surrendered, there was, at least, some consensus as the Irish filed out of the Tel Aviv's Ramat-Gan stadium on Saturday.

Emotionally battered and physically drained, Ireland's players stepped on to the team bus making little effort to hide their dismay over a last-minute equaliser that puts a serious, though far from fatal - after France's failure to beat Switzerland in Paris - dent in the Republic's hopes of reaching Germany next summer.

Brian Kerr sought to put a positive spin on the evening's events but he simply couldn't bring himself to claim that taking a point from this game represented anything approaching a success.

Events at the Stade de France, where the group's other two qualification contenders played out a scoreless draw, might initially have lifted spirits slightly in the camp. But on more considered reflection they will surely deepen the sense of disappointment that Ireland could not capitalise on an early lead against an obviously inferior team to propel themselves to within striking distance of Group Four's only automatic qualifying place.

For their misfortune the Irish can blame nobody but themselves. There had always been the suspicion that the selection of Steve Finnan ahead of Andy Reid would signal an underlying reluctance on the part of Kerr to really take this game to the Israelis, and as it turned out that general sense of niggling caution was evident everywhere in a game the Republic led for 87 minutes but never came close to finishing off.

Clinton Morrison's goal just three minutes in was delightful, a long passing movement ending when John O'Shea found Damien Duff down the left wing and the Chelsea player hit a low, short cross that the striker hooked in from what seemed an impossible angle. If the goal was good, though, what followed was one of the most frustrating Irish performances of recent times.

The visitors appeared to put it up to their hosts to break them down and score and offered almost nothing by way of a serious attacking threat themselves over the remainder of the game. There was no shortage of possession. In defence and midfield the Irish kept the ball well through the first half and generally looked comfortable. Steadily, though, the control they were seeking to exert on the course of the match slipped away and the Israelis had already had a couple of clearcut chances to level the scores before Abbas Suan found the net with a low drive from 25 yards that crossed the line precisely one second before the end of normal time.

It was hard to begrudge the locals their celebrations for they had produced the bulk of what positive attacking football there was while the Irish had settled for retaining possession with a neat but harmless passing game that occasionally saw them retreat from the edge of their opponents' area to the outer reaches of their own half without an Israeli once coming close to touching the ball.

In the first half, to be fair, the home side could do little to disrupt the Irish rhythm and their only chance of note came from an Idan Tal free that Shay Given saved brilliantly after initially starting to move in the wrong direction. Having started with just one striker, however, the Israelis devoted more resources to attack in the second half, and as they began to pose more problems Kerr's men found themselves increasingly on the back foot, with the midfield repeatedly joining the defence inside the final third of the pitch.

There was, in the circumstances, little prospect of grabbing the second goal the Irish needed to kill off the game but even with so many bodies in such a confined space the Israelis seemed able to pick their way through into highly promising positions. Either Yossi Benayoun or Adoram Keisi really should have pulled their side level as the game moved into its final half an hour, but the former blasted hopelessly over, and five minutes later the latter aimed a weak shot straight at Given after a fine run by Tal Ben Haim.

The situation required that Roy Keane assert himself in midfield but while the Corkman pushed the ball around effectively enough he failed to sufficiently disrupt the Israeli approach work. His efforts were hindered late on by a 75th-minute booking for a pointless challenge on Benayoun, which means he will - like Steve Carr, who was penalised for time-wasting in the first half - miss the return match in Dublin in early June.

Ireland's only shot on target in the second half came 18 minutes from time when John O'Shea cut the ball low across the area from the left and Finnan forced a save from Dudu Aouate.

The Racing Santander goalkeeper, whose positioning had been questionable for the Irish goal, had an otherwise comfortable evening, the Irish managing nothing but a couple of long floated crosses to trouble him.

After the equalising goal, which Andy O'Brien twice contributed to, firstly by failing to properly clear Benayoun's throw and then by leaving Given unsighted after Suan had struck his shot, there was a late attacking flurry and Duff had a shot deflected onto the top of the crossbar.

The home side, though, were worth their draw and will come to Dublin still harbouring qualification hopes, and if their ambitions are to be finally dashed at Lansdowne then Kerr's men will have to set about beating them with a little more conviction than they showed in Tel Aviv.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Carr (Newcastle Utd), Cunningham (Birmingham City), O'Brien (Newcastle Utd), O'Shea (Manchester Utd); Finnan (Liverpool), Roy Keane (Manchester Utd), Kilbane (Everton), Duff (Chelsea); Keane (Tottenham Hotspur), Morrison (Birmingham City, Holland 85 mins). Subs not used: Kenny, Reid, Dunne, Kavanagh, Elliott, Doherty.

ISRAEL: Aouate (Racing Santander); Afek (Salamanca, Nimni 65 mins), Ben Haim (Bolton Wanderers), Gershon (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Banado (Maccabi Haifa), Keisi (Hapoel Peth Tikva); Katan (Maccabi Haifa), Badeer (Maccabi Haifa), Tal (Maccabi Haifa, Balili 65 mins), Benayoun (Racing Santander); Golan (Maccabi Peth Tikva,Suan 74 mins). Subs not used: Cohen, Harazi, Shivhon, Saban.

Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia).