AMSTERDAM – Qualifying for the 2012 European Championship heated up on Tuesday, with former Real Salt Lake man Yura Movsisyan striking his first Armenia goal in a 2-2 draw at Macedonia.
In the 41st minute, the forward capped a fine move to break the ice in a match that eventually saw each team score a goal in second-half stoppage time.
Elsewhere in Group B, Ireland hold the penthouse after a 3-1 defeat of Andorra on goals from Kevin Kilbane, Kevin Doyle and Robbie Keane. Slovakia are a close second on goal differential after Miroslav Stoch's goal midway through the opening frame held up in a 1-0 win at Russia.
D.C. United midfielder Branko Boskovic helped surprise package Montenegro go joint top in Group G with a 1-0 victory at Bulgaria. The MLS man saw yellow in his 64 minutes, with teammate Elsad Zverotic doing the heroic honors with a low seeing-eye drive from distance 10 minutes before intermission.
Montenegro stand second on goal differential to England, who posted a comprehensive 3-1 win at 10-man Switzerland.
In Group A, Germany stayed in first place with a 6-1 drubbing of Kazakhstan that included a Miroslav Klose brace. Turkey also maintain a 100 percent record through two games after outlasting pesky 10-man guests Belgium in a see-saw 3-2 win decided by Arda Turan with 12 minutes to play.
Group C action saw five different Italy scorers punctuate a 5-0 win over Faroe Islands for the leaders. Serbia are alone in second, despite requiring a Nikola Zigic goal with four minutes left to rescue a 1-1 home draw with Slovenia.
France finally got off the schneid in Group D, topping hosts Bosnia 2-0 on markers from Karim Benzema and Florent Malouda inside a seven-minute second-half span. Albania are surprisingly tops in the pool after Hamid Salihi's first half tally was enough to best 10-man visitors Luxembourg.
Despite playing a man down for 66 minutes, home side Sweden got a Zlatan Ibrahimovic double and another pair on own goals in a 6-0 whitewashing of San Marino that put them on the Group E perch.
Also perfect through two are World Cup runners-up the Netherlands, who rode an early Klaas-Jan Huntelaar brace past Finland 2-1.
Croatia are at the Group F summit after battling visiting Greece to a scoreless draw.
In Group H, Erik Huseklepp's early goal saw hosts Norway to a 1-0 victory over Portugal and the top of the pool table. Denmark are second, thanks to a 1-0 win over Iceland earned through Thomas Kahlenberg's last-minute winner.
Finally, Group I play featured a stirring Scotland comeback as the home side completed a 2-1 win over Liechtenstein on Stephen McManus' 90th-minute goal. Second to the Scots are Lithuania, who got there courtesy of a famous 1-0 triumph at the Czech Republic.
