Iceland down Latvia to maintain winning run

• Iceland joint-top of Group A after comfortable win in Riga
• Gylfi Sigurdsson scores second in as many games
• Artjoms Rudņevs sent off for second bookable offence early in second half
• First away victory in six for Lars Lagerbäck’s side
• Next games: Latvia v Turkey, Iceland v Netherlands (Monday)

Iceland followed up their home success against Turkey with another comfortable 3-0 victory, this time in Riga against ten-man Latvia, to go joint-top of UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group A.

Lars Lagerbäck's side scored three times in the second half as their hosts had a player sent off for the second game running. Gylfi Sigurdsson's second goal in as many outings and further strikes from Aron Gunnarsson and Rúrik Gíslason sealed the win.

Latvia, who had won both previous competitive matches against Iceland and were unbeaten in four prior to kick-off, started brightly. Artjoms Rudņevs headed wide and Valērijs Šabala threatened from distance in the opening 12 minutes before the visitors settled.

A minute later, Sigurdsson's curling effort from outside the box almost found the net following a nice lay-off by Birkir Bjarnason. Emil Hallfredsson nearly found the bottom-right corner with a header, before the same player's long-range attempt failed to trouble Latvia goalkeeper Aleksandrs Koļinko as the Icelanders began to dominate.

Marians Pahars' team's chances of holding out were undermined early in the second half by Rudņevs 55th-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence. Eleven minutes later, Sigurdsson struck the opener as Latvia's resistance was broken. Gunnarsson nodded home a second before the Baltic side tried to respond, Kaspars Gorkšs 84th-minute goal-bound effort being headed off the line. Viktors Morozs also threatened with a free-kick – only for Iceland to grab a third through substitute Gíslason.