RUSSIA HAVE DEFEATED their Slavic neighbours Serbia in a friendly and, in doing so, passed their final test ahead of next month’s European Championship qualifier with Giovanni Trappatoni’s Ireland.
Though facing a strong Serbian side that included Nemanja Vidic, Branislav Ivanovic and Dejan Stankovic, the Russian side emerged one-nil winners courtesy of a poacher’s finish from centre-forward Pavel Pogrebnyak.
An attritional affair, during which both sides struggled find their rhythm, the match took its toll in terms of casualties, among whom Alexander Kerzhakov and Andrei Arshavin must qualify as the most noteworthy. While the Arsenal winger was substituted after a clash of heads, Kerzhakov’s injury appeared more serious. After collapsing under the weight of a tackle from Vidic, the striker was left to hobble from the field of play.
Ireland face Russia at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on the 6th of September.
