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MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Russia beat Finland 3-0 in their Group Four World Cup qualifier on Wednesday after the visitors put the first two goals into their own net.
The Euro 2008 semi-finalists opened the scoring midway through the first half when Petri Pasanen, fighting off Russia striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, mishit into his own goal.
The Russians, beaten by Germany 2-1 in Dortmund last Saturday, went two up in the 65th minute when Veli Lampi scored a second own goal when trying to clear the ball off the line.
Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin added a third two minutes from time with a great solo effort, beating two defenders before rounding the keeper and slotting calmly into an empty net.
Arshavin and Yuri Zhirkov, two of the outstanding players at Euro 2008, created most of the chances for the home team throughout the fast-paced game.
The visitors rarely threatened Russia keeper Igor Akinfeyev with their lone striker Mikael Forssell closely guarded.
Russia coach Guus Hiddink said his team totally deserved their victory.
"We were very disappointed to lose to Germany after playing badly in the first half," the Dutchman told reporters. "That's why today we were focused right from the start.
"We played well in the first half, although we missed two excellent chances but in the second half we increased the tempo and created more chances. I'm very pleased how we played after the break," he added.
The win moved Russia into second place on six points, level with Wales and four behind group leaders Germany but with a game in hand of both. Finland are fourth with four points.
