Russia held in Armenia

RUSSIA were held to a 0-0 draw by hard-working Armenia in their game on Saturday, missing a chance to extend their lead in the group. Russia have now failed to score for a third consecutive match after losing two friendlies to Belgium (2-0) and Iran (1-0) in the last five months.

After a slow opening, the Russians took control, creating several scoring chances but failed to find the target.

Yura Movsisyan wasted Armenia’s best chance early in the second half when he fired wide from close range.

Alexander Kerzhakov, who scored for Russia in each of their two previous qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and Macedonia, missed the top corner when he was sent clear a few minutes later.

Russia captain Andrei Arshavin had a quiet game, missing the target with his only shot at goal late on.

Coach Dick Advocaat said he was happy enough with a draw. “Both teams were looking for a goal but we had a lot more chances than them. Unfortunately, we were missing the final pass and couldn’t get a good shot on goal. Still, this draw is a good result, especially as we were playing away from home.”

The two teams meet again in their next qualifier on June 4th.

Sebo saves the day for Slovakia

SLOVAKIA laboured to a 1-0 victory over Andorra also on Saturday. Slovan Bratislava’s Filip Sebo headed the winner after 21 minutes at the Estadi Comunal, his seventh goal for the national team.

Slovakia struggled against their limited opponents, however, and could not build on their lead.

Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel wasted a good chance in the 61st minute on a largely frustrating night for last year’s World Cup finalists.

Andorra, who have lost all five of their games and managed just one goal, even had a late chance to level but Oscar Sonejee was unable to convert just seconds before the final whistle.

Slovakia will hope to bolster their goal difference when they host Andorra in June.