Erbes masterminds Kazakhstan success

Sergey Gorokhovodatsky's side strengthened their position at the top of Group 6 by beating Bulgaria 2-0 at the Tcentralny Stadium in Almaty.

Wounded pride
The senior side lost 5-1 at home against Belarus on Wednesday, but the Under-21s helped the nation to restore wounded pride with their first win of the campaign, having drawn their opener against Israel 1-1. The
visitors started off looking lively, with Momchil Tsvetanov earning them several free-kicks in dangerous positions, and setting up Radoslav Vasilev to go one-on-one with Kazakhstan goalkeeper Andrey Zaporochshenko. However, playmaker Vyacheslav Erbes ensured that Kazakhstan remained a threat.

Erbes stars
The hosts showed their mettle more in the second half, and Ruslan Kenetayev had already had a chance before Sabyrkhan Ibrayev broke the deadlock from an Erbes corner. Sergey Khizhnichenko later hit the crossbar before Erbes wrapped things up with a late second goal. Kazakhstan meet Montenegro in their next qualifier on 7 June, with Bulgaria facing Israel three days later.