Montenegro dampen Kazakh hopes

Montenegro made it a three-way tie at the Group 6 summit, joining Sweden and Israel on seven points thanks to a 3-1 win against a Kazakhstan side who had hoped to improve on a creditable draw with the Scandinavian side last time out.

Second success
The hosts other win in the section came in the reverse fixture, 2-0 in Almaty, and they were on course to complete the double over Kazakhstan from the moment Admir Adrović gave them a tenth-minute lead. Marko Djurović made it 2-0 before the break and the visitors' slim hopes evaporated when Zakhar Korobov was dismissed 18 minutes from time. Nemanja Nikolić added a third before Khassan Abdukarimov's consolation.

Otarbayev error
Kazakhstan started brightly, hitting the post through Maxim Semyonov on six minutes, but they were thrown off course when goalkeeper Samat Otarbayev allowed a weak Adrović effort to open the scoring. Pavel Rodnenok's side lacked a killer instinct and paid the price when Djurović struck from close range three minutes before the break. Nikolić rifled in the third from 25 metres on 81 minutes following a straight red card for Korobov before Abdukarimov headed in for Kazakhstan, who now have five points from seven matches. Montenegro are on seven after four outings; unbeaten Sweden and Israel have played three apiece.