Turkey beat Kazakhstan 3-1 for their first win in Euro 2016 qualifying Group A.
Burak Yilmaz's first-half brace, including a penalty, put the home side in control and Serdar Aziz headed the third.
Kazakhstan netted a penalty of their own through Samat Smakov and had a couple more chances in the closing stages but Turkey held on.
Turkey were quickly on the attack and Selcuk Inan's early free-kick was headed goalwards by Serdar Aziz, but Alexandr Mokin saved.
Yilmaz gave a warning of what was to come when he headed Ozan Tufan's cross wide, then Umut Bulut shot wide.
The opening goal came in the 27th minute when Yilmaz was brought down in the box by Renat Abdulin and sent Mokin the wrong way from the spot.
And the striker quickly doubled his and his team's tally when he seized on Volkan Sen's pass and his low shot from outside the box found its way past Mokin.
That was the end of the first-half scoring, with Caner Erkin and Yilmaz both off target while Askhat Tagybergen shot over for Kazakhstan.
Early in the second half, Arda Turan sent efforts first wide and then over either side of Inan's free-kick which was fielded by Mokin.
Yuri Logvinenko forced home goalkeeper Volkan Babacan into his first save of the evening and Abdulin's shot was blocked by Erkin.
Yilmaz twice threatened to complete his hat-trick but could not find a way past Mokin. His second effort was only parried into the path of Bulut, who blazed over from six yards.
Turan shot wide and Erkin curled a free-kick over the bar before Mokin parries Olcay Sahan's blast.
But Aziz made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute when he glanced in Gokhan Tore's corner for his first international goal.
Kazakhstan were well beaten but they at least got on the scoresheet three minutes from time when Mehmet Topal pulled down Ulan Konysbayev in the box and captain Smakov hammered the penalty into the roof of the net.
Konysbayev almost made it a tense finish when his long-range free-kick crashed off a post, and Aleksey Shchetkin's header was brilliantly saved by Babacan - but the visitors were unable to score again.
ends
UEFA European Championship Qualifying Standings
POS | Team | GP | GD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Spain | 8 | +20 | 21 |
2 | Scotland | 8 | +9 | 17 |
3 | Norway | 8 | +2 | 11 |
4 | Georgia | 8 | -6 | 8 |
5 | Cyprus | 8 | -25 | 0 |
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