Last-gasp Russia win in Slovenia

Russia remain firmly in the hunt for qualification from UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group 2 after a last-gasp victory over Slovenia.

Nikolai Pisarev's men look set to push Denmark all the way in the section after skipper Aleksei Nikitin struck deep into second-half stoppage time to secure Russia's fourth victory. Hosts Slovenia remain second bottom with five points from their opening six fixtures.

Russia were on the front foot from kick-off with Konstantin Bazelyuk, their top scorer in qualifying, drawing an early save from Ažbe Jug. Slovenia soon responded and created a chance of their own thanks to Haris Vučkič's fine cross but Andraž Šporar could only head over.

A Bazelyuk effort that flew narrowly past the right post and Dmitri Kayumov's miss from close range were the closest Russia came either side of the interval. However, just as Slovenia seemed to have earned a share of the spoils, Russia scored from the final corner of the match two minutes into added time. Nikitin was first to react to a loose ball in the area and tapped in the winner.

Slovenia coach Tomaž Kavčič said: "I do not blame the players for this result and the late goal, they fought hard. We've seen that some Russian players are better prepared and more powerful. Unfortunately, we come away from a home game without any points again."