Russia rampant in Andorra

Russia secured their second 4-0 win in four days with Andorra the latest side to succumb to Igor Kolyvanov's charges in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group 1.

Back-to-back wins
Rocked by a 1-0 defeat away to the Faroe Islands in June, Russia were looking to bounce back by claiming maximum points from successive trips to Latvia and Andorra. Having completed half the task in a rain-soaked Liepaja on Saturday, the visitors finished their mission at the Estadi Comunal thanks to goals from Igor Gorbatenko, Dmitri Ryzhov, Fedor Smolov and substitute Alan Gatagov.

Attacking force
Gorbatenko got the away team going in the 17th minute with a long-range effort that caught Andorra goalkeeper Oriol Oliva off his line. Oliva produced a series of saves before, nine minutes later, he was finally being beaten again with Ryzhov registering. Two minutes after the restart Russia had a third with Smolov controlling a cross from the right, bursting through the defence and slotting the ball under the advancing goalkeeper. Then, with six minutes remaining, Gatagov raced clear after beating the offside trap and slipped his finish inside the near post to round off the scoring.