Blue-and-white gets shut out in Kiev
Gutman & Co. fall to Ukraine in 2-0 friendly for first international loss for Israel in five games. Israel suffered its first defeat since last November on Wednesday night, losing 2-0 to Ukraine in Kiev in its last tune-up match ahead of the final stretch to its 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign. Since falling 2-1 to Belarus in a friendly in Jerusalem last year, Israel had managed to resurrect its qualifying campaign with a 3-3 draw against Portugal and a 2-0 victory at Northern Ireland, while also winning its past two friendly encounters against Finland and Honduras. However, it was outplayed for most of Wednesday’s game – played under driving rain in Kiev – giving coach Eli Gutman plenty of food for thought before next month’s resumption of the qualifiers. The blue-and-white currently sits in third place in Group F with 11 points from six matches, trailing second-placed Russia, which had 12 points from five games before Wednesday night’s match at Northern Ireland. Portugal l