Sheriff finally triumph against Tromsø

FC Sheriff triumphed 2-0 at home against Tromsø IL to record their first win in UEFA Europa League Group K.

First-half headers from Cadu and Ismail Isa combined with an impressive showing from goalkeeper Vjekoslav Tomić helped the Moldovan champions double their points tally in the section and condemn Tromsø to last place.

Though second spot was always out of their reach, Sheriff played with real purpose from the outset and took a fourth-minute lead. Cadu stooped to head in at the back post after Luvannor Henrique had flicked on Benjamin Balima's cross from the right. Only the awareness of Benny Lekström prevented Tromsø going 2-0 down soon after, with the keeper blocking smartly from point-blank range after Isa had been picked out in space.

Stirred into action, the visitors went on the offensive and it was the turn of Sheriff's Tomić to step into the spotlight. The keeper twisted in the air to paw Ruben Kristiansen's swerving long-range shot onto the bar and dived at full length to palm Zdeněk Ondrášek's curler past the left post as Tromsø turned the screw.

In response, Sheriff capitalised on their keeper's heroics and doubled their lead before half-time. Isa atoned for his earlier miss, gobbling up another excellent deep cross from Balima and planting a downward header past Lekström.

Tomić again showed his reflexes after the interval, making a fine low save from Adnan Сausevic's instinctive header after Magnus Andersen's flicked pass. That was the custodian's last act, however, as Tomić was replaced on the hour by 22-year-old Dmitri Stajila. The substitute enjoyed a quiet outing as Sheriff eased to victory, the margin of which could have been even greater had an unmarked Luvannor not fired into the side netting late on.