Brilliant Bosnia and Herzegovina put five past Latvia
Friday, June 7, 2013
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Latvia 0-5 Bosnia and Herzegovina
The hosts were reduced to ten men after just 11 minutes and five second-half goals propelled Safet Sušić's Group G leaders to victory.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina surged past Latvia to record a convincing 5-0 victory and tighten their grip at the top of FIFA World Cup qualifying Group G.
The home side were up against it from the moment Aleksandrs Fertovs was dismissed after 11 minutes. Latvia nonetheless held firm until Senad Lulić broke the deadlock three minutes after the break. Vedad Ibišević and Haris Medunjanin extended Bosnia's lead before Miralem Pjanić and Edin Džeko delivered the final blows.
After Fertovs was sent off for a foul on Elvir Rahimić, Safet Sušić's visitors dictated the tempo, with Džeko, Lulić and Ibišević all firing narrowly wide. Latvia goalkeeper Andris Vaņins denied Lulić at point-blank range on 47 minutes yet was helpless to prevent the same player scoring moments later.
The S.S. Lazio winger then turned provider for Ibišević to nod in and Medunjanin made it three with a thumping finish. Not content with their lot, Pjanić capped a fine individual performance with a stunning long-range strike before setting up Džeko, who found the net with aplomb eight minutes from time.