Gordeichuk fires Belarus past Luxembourg

• Mikhail Gordeichuk's double earns Belarus their second Group C win
  
• Belarus remain in fourth place – they cannot finish higher
• Sixteen Luxembourg players had food poisoning in the lead-up to the game 
• The triumph is Belarus's first at home in six competitive fixtures
  
• Next games: Slovakia v Belarus, Spain v Luxembourg (9 October)

Belarus recorded their second victory in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group C, seeing off Luxembourg thanks to a goal in each half from Mikhail Gordeichuk.

Belarus were quick out of the blocks, keen to harass a visiting side perhaps still feeling the effects of the food-poisoning bug that swept through their squad on Sunday night. That high-intensity approach resulted in Luxembourg keeper Jonathan Joubert being pressed into service early on when beating out a powerful header from home captain Sergei Kornilenko.

Luxembourg defended valiantly but fell behind 11 minutes before the break courtesy of Gordeichuk's opportunistic strike, the BATE Borisov player scoring on his home ground after Kornilenko's attempt on the turn was helped on inadvertently by Maxime Chanot. Gordeichuk seized on the run of the ball, dispatching a shot away from Joubert and inside the near post.

Aleksandr Khatskevich's Belarus continued to push after the restart, confirming Luxembourg's sixth successive away defeat in competitive play when Gordeichuk took receipt of substitute Sergei Kislyak's pass, surged into the box and drilled beyond Joubert.  

The Grand Duchy team's response was muted, with Belarus goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov enjoying a comfortable night. Indeed, he was not called into action until he was forced to tip over Stefano Bensi's fierce drive two minutes from time.