A late winner from half-time substitute Zvjezdan Misimovic earned Bosnia-Herzegovina an important victory over nine-man Belarus in their Euro 2012 qualifier in Zenica tonight.

Bosnia-Herzegovina won 2-0 in Belarus on Friday night and secured another vital win as they remain firmly in contention for qualification from Group D.

Belarus midfielder Timofey Kalachev was dismissed for a second yellow card just after the half-hour mark before the visitors went down to nine men with seven minutes remaining when Alexander Martynovich saw red.

The game started slowly with Bosnia-Herzegovina losing midfielder Sejad Salihovic to injury after only 20 minutes with the first clear-cut chance not coming until 10 minutes later when Belarus striker Sergey Kornilenko's effort was parried by Asmir Begovic in the hosts' goal.

Kalachev was then sent off after receiving his second booking only seven minutes after picking up his first but despite a succession of corners and a decent effort from Edin Dzeko, Belarus reached half-time untroubled.

The second half saw Bosnia-Herzegovina dominate possession without really testing Belarus goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov but the visitors were made to work even harder when Martynovich was sent off in the 83rd minute.

The two-man deficit proved to be too much as the hosts finally took the lead with three minutes remaining when Misimovic rifled home Dzeko's pass from 12 yards out.

Bosnia-Herzegovina saw out the final minutes to record a win that sees them move four points clear of third placed Belarus and only one point behind group leaders France.