Slovenia complete double over Kazakhstan as they edge to Nations League victory
Protecting a four-match unbeaten run on home soil in the UNL, Kazakhstan made the brighter start, testing visiting goalkeeper Jan Oblak before the 15-minute mark when Abat Aimbetov turned on the edge of the box and curled an effort onto the crossbar as Oblak stood helpless.
The hosts were powerless to stop Benjamin Sesko putting three past them in the reverse fixture, and the striker had his first sight of goal five minutes later, but Igor Shatskiy got down well to deny him.
After his side shipped four unanswered goals in Austria on Thursday, the decision by Stanislav Cherchesov to play a back five was paying off, as the Hawks kept Slovenia at bay despite mounting pressure.
However, they still had Shatskiy to thank late in the half, as he denied Sesko’s header with a great reflex save, before securing the half-time stalemate by keeping Adam Gnezda Cerin’s strike from finding the bottom corner.
However, the home side’s resistance was broken 10 minutes after the break in some style. Erik Janza picked out Jan Mlakar on the edge of the area, and his thunderous strike had too much on it for Shatskiy as it clipped the underside of the bar on its way in.
Searching for a quickfire double, Matjaz Kek’s side struck the woodwork on the other side of the hour mark, but this time, Sesko’s weaving run ended with his shot cannoning back off the post.
Chances were few and far between in the latter stages as the visitors stifled any Kazakh hopes of a late equaliser.
Moving level with Norway on seven points was the ideal response from Slovenia, whose 3-0 loss to the Norwegians on Thursday is their only 90-minute defeat in 13 matches – a run that began with a win over Kazakhstan last November.
The same match, incidentally, also started the Hawks’ run of eight losses in their last 10.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jan Mlakar (Slovenia)