Dinamo pair help Russia down Portugal
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Article summary
Russia 2-1 Portugal
FC Dinamo Moskva's Aleksandr Kokorin and Fedor Smolov scored as Russia came from behind to take a two-point lead at the top of qualifying Group 6.
Article top media content
Article body
Goals from FC Dinamo Moskva's Aleksandr Kokorin and Fedor Smolov helped Russia maintain their unblemished record in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group 6.
Wilson Eduardo put Portugal in front after 30 minutes, beating Nikolai Zobolotni from André Martins' cross. Though Pavel Yakovlev then missed a decent chance at the other end, Portugal's lead was snuffed out within six minutes of the restart when Kokorin headed past Mika from Yakovlev's pass.
Having come on at half-time, Smolov pressed Russia's advantage, beating his man before darting a shot into the bottom corner on 54 minutes. Nikolai Pisarev's side are yet to drop a point in three qualifiers, and can extend their two-point lead over second-ranked Poland when they visit Albania on 10 November.