Slovenia undone as Norway strike late

John Arne Riise's penalty four minutes into added time secured victory for Norway and left Slovenia rooted to the foot of FIFA World Cup Group E with no points from two games.

Dejan Kelhar brought down Alexander Söderlund in the Slovenia area at the death, and Fulham FC man Riise kept his cool to slide the spot kick past Jan Oblak, as Egil Olsen's side made some amends for their 2-0 opening-day defeat against Iceland. There was to be no comfort for Slovenia, however, who had already lost their first fixture 2-0 against Switzerland.

It had started well for Slaviša Stojanovič's side, who took the lead after 17 minutes when Marko Šuler slotted into the net after Norway goalkeeper Rune Jarstein only could parry a Jasmin Kurtič free-kick. However, the home side responded nine minutes later when Markus Henriksen got his head to a rebound after Tarik Elyounoussi's shot from 18 metres hit the underside of the bar.

Norway dominated possession after the break, but they looked destined to take just a point until Riise's late intervention. Their Group E campaign resumes in Switzerland on 12 October, when Slovenia play host to Cyprus.