Russia make it through the rain

Russia atoned for their 1-0 defeat in the Faroe Islands last time out with a deceptively tough UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group 1 away win against Latvia.

Sucker punch
The 4-0 scoreline did scant justice to the home team, who made the better start in torrential rain with Vadims Žulevs having a shot saved by Sergei Pesyakov before Aleksandrs Gramovics tested the Russia goalkeeper with a long-range effort. However, Latvia were undone after 17 minutes as Jevgenijs Kazura deflected Fedor Smolov's cross into his own net and fell 2-0 behind eleven minutes later, FC Spartak Moskva striker Pavel Yakovlev meeting Evgeny Balyaykin's cross at the far post.

Magnanimous coach
The FC Rubin Kazan midfielder set up Russia's third after the break for Dmitri Ryzhov and while Latvia picked up the pace, they were undone again in the 54th minute as Vadims Gaiļus's mistake allowed Yakovlev to steal in, crossing for Igor Gorbatenko to complete the scoring. "We won 4-0 but it was a close match and the game could have finished with a completely different scoreline," Russia coach Igor Kolyvanov told uefa.com. His side visit Andorra on Tuesday with Latvia facing the Faroe Islands a day later.