Marek Hamsik set up the opener and came up with a contender for goal of the tournament as Slovakia beat Russia 2-1 in Lille yesterday to claim a first European Championship finals win.
Hamsik’s pass released Vladimir Weiss to score in the 32nd minute at the Stade Pierre Mauroy and the Napoli star doubled the lead in style right on the stroke of half-time. Russia pushed in the second half but were left with too much to do, even if Denis Glushakov got one back in the 80th minute to set up a grandstand finale.
The result allowed Jan Kozak’s team to bounce back from the 2-1 defeat to Wales with which they started their Euro 2016 campaign and put pressure on their Group B rivals before England take on the Welsh in Lens today. “We are very proud and happy with our first win at a European Championship,” said man of the match Hamsik. “This has perhaps opened up the gates to the last 16. I did well and am very proud that I managed to score such a goal. It was brilliant.”
Russia prop up the group with one point from two matches and will surely now need to beat Wales in their final group game to keep their hopes of reaching the last 16 alive. The build-up to this match in far northern France had been overshadowed by hooliganism fears with Russia having been told they would be thrown out of the competition if there was any repeat of the crowd trouble at the end of their draw with England in Marseille.
There was a much calmer atmosphere inside the stands as the match was played with the stadium roof closed. Kozak made three changes to the Slovakia team beaten by Wales, including handing a start to Ondrej Duda, the young forward who had come off the bench to net in the opening match.
After a slow start, Russia grew into the game and their powerful centre-forward Artem Dzyuba, of Zenit St Petersburg, nearly caught out Slovakian ’keeper Matus Kovacik with a header after good play down the right by Igor Smolnikov.
Dzyuba then displayed his strength to set up Fedor Smolov for a low shot that fizzed inches wide of the left post as the half-hour approached, but soon after that Slovakia were in front.
Hamsik undid the Russia defence with a superb left-foot pass in behind right-back Smolnikov.
Weiss still had work to do though, as he cut back onto his right foot and finished with aplomb past Igor Akinfeev into the far corner. Leonid Slutsky’s side were stunned but there was worse to come for them, and better from Hamsik, as the interval approached.
The Russian defence was still organising itself when Weiss played a corner short to Hamsik.
Oleg Shatov came across in an attempt to block Hamsik but the 28-year-old turned back onto his right foot and curled a tremendous effort in off the far post.
It was arguably the goal of Euro 2016 so far and it had the Slovakians at that end of the ground in raptures.
Slutsky changed his two central midfielders at half-time, replacing Roman Neustaedter and Aleksandr Golovin with Glushakov and Pavel Mamaev.
It was Glushakov of Spartak Moscow who reduced the arrears in the 80th minute, heading home after Shatov had played a one-two with Roman Shirokov and crossed from the left byline. But Slovakia held on.

Russia coach Slutski shrugs off trouble
Lille, France: Russia’s players have not been distracted by the fan violence that has brought a threat of disqualification from Euro 2016, coach Leonid Slutski said after another stuttering performance from his team yesterday.
“It has had no effect on the team,” Slutski said after Russia’s 2-1 defeat by Slovakia in Lille which leaves them now needing to beat Wales in their final Group B game to survive in the tournament. Worryingly, with the threat of expulsion from this tournament hanging over the 2018 World Cup hosts, a flare went off among Russian fans after Denis Glushakov’s late strike gave them brief hope of salvaging a point.
But Slutski insisted he did not see it and refused to say if he was worried about a repeat of the fan violence in Marseille that marred Saturday’s 1-1 draw with England.
UEFA indicated that the flare incident did not constitute a “crowd disturbance” that might trigger the suspended penalty hanging over the Russian team since their supporters charged England fans at the Stade Velodrome.
Nonetheless, Russian fans were being monitored by a massive police presence in Lille after the game for fear of new clashes with English and Welsh supporters crowding the city ahead of their clash in the same group in nearby Lens today. Slutski was clearly dissatisfied by another disjointed performance by his team and suggested that the line-up, unchanged from the England game, might well be altered for Monday’s decisive clash with Wales in Toulouse. “Changes are quite possible,” Slutski told reporters, though he declined to criticise his misfiring forward trio of Aleksandr Kokorin, Artem Dzyuba and Fedor Smolov. “We have plenty of time for analysis and to assess our playing resources.”
Slutski said Marek Hamsik’s goal that put Slovakia 2-0 ahead at halftime was down to his defence’s lack of concentration in injury time.
Slovakia coach Jan Kozak said his side had worked on the short corner routine specifically to target a Russian defensive weakness they had spotted.
With Russia still having the chance of picking up four points in their group, Slutski said: “The situation in the group is pretty messy. Every team has a chance of reaching the knockout stage. The battle will go right to the end.”