Dabour and Altman keep Israel buoyant

Munas Dabbur scored in the first half and Omri Altman added a second late on as 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship hosts Israel beat Belarus 2-0 in a friendly game at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.

Sergei Ignatovich in the Belarus goal was equal to the early chances as the home side looked to seize the initiative, but he was beaten on 25 minutes when Dabour exchanged passes with Eyal Golasa before producing a neat finish. Maccabi Haifa FC midfielder Golasa picked out Dabbur and strike partner Mohammed Kalebat early in the second half, but the forwards failed to double the lead from close range.

Belarus might have punished that profligacy with ten minutes to go, with Boris Kleyman making a good save from Pavel Savitski, but a third win in four 2012 games was duly confirmed just before the final whistle, with Fulham FC prospect Altman producing another tidy strike following a simple pass from Sintayehu Sallalich.

Israel
Kleyman; Verta, Falah, Gotlieb, Ben Harush (Davidzada 70); Kabha (Altman 79), Azzam (Kriaf 59), Golasa (Micha 87), Assulin (Abed 59); Kalebat (Sallalich 64), Dabbur (Butbul 82)