Six-goal Serbia blow away Wales

Serbia got their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign up and running with a resounding win in Novi Sad, putting six past Wales to earn their first Group A win.

After a frustrating opening draw in Scotland, Siniša Mihajlović's men were re-energised back on home turf, and Aleksandar Kolarov's free-kick put them ahead early on , before Zoran Tošić doubled the lead from close range. Gareth Bale's set-piece reduced the deficit, but Filip Djuričić restored the advantage before the break, and Dušan Tadić, Branislav Ivanović and Miralem Sulejmani rounded things off in the second half.

The hosts threatened from the off and were unfortunate to see Matija Nastasić's goal-bound header blocked by team-mate Filip Djuričić. The opener came 14 minutes in, when Simon Church bundled over Lazar Marković 20 metres from goal, and Kolarov curled the ball expertly over the wall. Aleksandar Ignjovski drilled just wide, before a dogged run by Kolarov took him deep into the Wales area, and the Manchester City FC man's pull-back was turned in by Tošić.

Bale halved the deficit with a thumping free-kick of his own on the half-hour, but Serbia maintained their composure and the two-goal advantage was restored when Tadić's neat ball sent Djuričić into the area, and he finished high into the net.

Serbia put the game to bed ten minutes after the interval when captain Ivanović picked up a loose ball and powered into the area before crossing for Tadić to score, and with ten minutes remaining the captain himself drove low into the net. Substitute Sulejmani's effort was deflected past Boaz Myhill in the final minute to confirm a miserable night for Chris Coleman, who has now lost his first five matches as Wales manager.