Bosnia and Herzegovina defeat ten-man Albania

Beaten 3-0 by Romania on Friday, Bosnia and Herzegovina bounced back to defeat Albania 2-0 and move into third place in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group D.

Safet Sušić's team are now three points off section leaders France and two behind Belarus, having played one game less than the latter. Haris Medunjanin gave them the lead midway through the second half in Zenica, but it was not until the closing stages that victory was assured. Andi Lila's 87th-minute dismissal gave Albania even more of an uphill struggle and Darko Maletić's added-time strike ended their resistance once and for all.

It was Miralem Pjanić, though, who had the hosts' first chance to register on 13 minutes, shooting narrowly wide following neat interplay with Zvjezdan Misimović. Emir Spahić was the next culprit, missing with a header from Pjanić's throw, before Misimović did find the target from 16 metres only to be thwarted by Saimir Ujkani.

Edin Džeko was also guilty of spurning a decent opening after the break, though he was given a reprieve within a minute when Medunjanin beat Ujkani after exchanging passes with Boris Pandža. Second-half substitute Lila was shown a straight red card late on and Bosnia and Herzegovina capitalised through Maletić. They resume their campaign in Belarus on 2 September, when Albania host France.