Pekarík happy to end wait for Slovakia goal

Hertha BSC Berlin right-back Peter Pekarík had to wait almost six years to score his second goal for Slovakia – and pointed to his Bundesliga experience after ending the wait in a 3-0 defeat of Luxembourg that kept his team perfect in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying.

Pekarík's first international strike came in June 2009 against San Marino. He made it two on Friday night in Zilina, claiming Slovakia's third before half-time to keep them three points clear of second-placed Spain in Group C with five wins from five matches.

"I am very glad to help the team with another victory," Pekarík said. "Right-backs in Germany are asked to help with attacking too, but not as 'false wingers'. Today there was lot of space for me to do that – I like to play offensively."

That said, Pekarík could not even remember his previous international goal. "Help me!" he asked a journalist with a smile.

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His 40th-minute effort came after a pass from Tomáš Hubočan, the defender's former MŠK Žilina club-mate. "I thanked him," the 28-year-old Pekarík said. "We will have to swap roles in the next game. It was a good pass, I had time to control and turn it into the net. It was a great feeling in front of a great crowd."

However, Pekarík was a little surprised with the Luxembourg defence after the visitors had gone 2-0 down against the section leaders. "Their players pressed too high. There was lot of space for us. It's a pity that we did not add more goals. But never mind – we won and I hope the good feeling continues and we will be able to get more points. I am looking forward to it."

Vladimír Weiss, who scored the Slovaks' second, concurred: "We expected a tougher match, but we scored early and everything went right for us. We deserved a sell-out crowd."