MOSCOW — Fabio Capello extended his unbeaten run as Russia coach Wednesday, as his side drew 2-2 with the United States in a friendly in Krasnodar. Anzhi Makhachkala forward Fedor Smolov and Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder Roman Shirokov both scored for the home side, while midfielders Michael Bradley and Mikkel Deskerud were on target for the visitors. The hosts started in a lively fashion pinning back the Americans, who were weakened with the absence of Tottenham Hotspur's Klint Dempsey and Langdon Donovan of LA Galazy, from the kick-off. Smolov put Russia 1-0 up in the ninth minute, giving US goalkeeper Tim Howard of English Premier League side Everton no chance from close range after a mix-up in defense. Bradley, of Serie A outfit Roma, however, leveled in the 76th minute with a volley from outside the box, which struck the left-hand post and ricocheted into the net, after being fed with a header by teammate Josmer Altidore. Russia poured forward for the winning goal and in the 84th minute Shirokov scored from the spot after Spartak Moscow forward Artem Dzyuba was fouled in the box. But they failed to keep their lead through as Norwegian side Rosenborg halfback Deskerud saved the day, levlling the score in the second minute of added time — again with a volley from outside the box. Russia drew 1-1 with Ivory Coast in Capello's first match in charge on Aug 15. The draw was followed by four consecutive wins against Northern Ireland, Israel, Portugal and Azerbaijan in the 2014 World Cup qulifiers. Australia beats South Korea Australia came from behind to defeat South Korea 2-1 in a friendly at Hwaseong Stadium also Wednesday. Robert Cornthwaite, who plays his club football in South Korea, scored the winning goal with three minutes remaining. With both teams free from the present round of matches in Asian World Cup qualifying, both coaches took the opportunity to experiment although it was a veteran who opened the scoring. After just 11 minutes, Lee Dong-guk volleyed home from inside the penalty area. Two minutes before the break, Australia drew level. Tommy Oar threaded a pass through the Korean defense for Nikita Rukavytsya to finish coolly. With time running out, Cornthwaite bundled the ball home from close range as Korea failed to clear an Australian corner. NZ holds China In Shanghai, a Chris Wood goal was enough to grab New Zealand a share of the spoils in a 1-1 friendly draw with China. The Kiwi striker's 43rd minute header canceled out Zhao Peng's 30th minute opener at Shanghai's Hongkou Stadium. China coach Jose Camacho, whose side is out of World Cup qualifying and is now preparing for next year's Asian Cup preliminaries, said his players were making progress, albeit slowly. — Agencies
