Israel sneak past Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands 0 Israel 2

Israel maintained their unbeaten record in Group 4 but needed second-half goals by Avi Nimny and Yaniv Katan to see off an obdurate Faroe Islands side in Torshavn on Wednesday.

Midfielder Nimny struck in the 55th minute to calm the visitors’ nerves and the win was ensured when striker Katan finished from close range with 10 minutes remaining.

Israel leapt to the top of the standings – for a while at least – following the victory, with rivals France, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland all playing later in the evening.

And with only a home game against the Faroes in Tel Aviv on October 8 remaining, Israel have a superb chance of reaching the finals for the first time in 36 years.

West Ham attacking midfielder Yossi Benayoun was the first player to test Faroe Islands goalkeeper Jakup Mikkelsen after just 50 seconds – but from that point onwards, the visitors surprisingly struggled to make an impression.

Adoram Keisi had a header tipped over in the 17th minute and Pini Balali had a close-range effort saved shortly after.

With four minutes to go before the interval, Benayoun – who has started the season well for his new club side – slalomed into the area but with just the goalkeeper to beat, he sent a weak shot across the face of goal.

As expected, Israel took the initiative after the interval and managed to finally get on the scoresheet 10 minutes in.

The impressive Benayoun began a counter attack from deep inside Israeli territory before picking out Katan.

His cross was brought down by Nimny, who blasted in his shot from the edge of the area.

Nimny had two great opportunities to double his personal tally – in the 67th and 77th minutes – but he squandered both efforts.

He will have been delighted, therefore, to see Katan make sure of the win when he got in behind the tiring Faroe Islands defence to meet an Adoram Keisi cross and tap in from close range.