FEARS FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM

The Azerbaijani national team has played two games as part of the 2008 European Cup qualification campaign, leaving rather mixed impressions. The opponents were different - Poland and Kazakhstan, and so were the results. Whereas in the first game Sahin Diniyev's side was defeated 3:1 by Poland, the second match was a 1:1 draw.

After the sensational win over Finland (1:0) in the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, our players would have liked to continue their success at home against Poland. Besides, Azerbaijan had a long-standing grudge against the Poles, bearing in mind the humiliating defeat 5:0 away from home earlier in the campaign. In the qualification rounds for the 2006 World Cup, Azerbaijan was crushed by Poland twice (8:0 in Poland!).

The Poles, however, got off to a poor start in the latest match in Baku. Azerbaijan's second attack, after only 6 minutes, produced a goal. Alim Qurbanov passed the ball to Branimir Subashich on the left, who zipped past a defender and unleashed a shot which caught Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruts off guard. Shortly afterwards, the home side staged more attacks. Particularly active were Ramazan Abbasov, who worked hard on both flanks, and the tireless but goalless Xaqani Mammadov. It would be fair to acknowledge, however, that by the end of the first half our players' ardour subsided as they mainly tried to hold onto their lead.

Subs didn't help   

Things did not change much in the second half and the visitors strengthened their grip on the game. To bolster the attack, the Azerbaijan coach substituted the promising Vaqif Cavadov for Xaqani Mammadov, but the replacement produced the opposite effect. Not only did the Qarabag striker fail to add pace, he was hardly involved in the game and did not create any scoring opportunities. In the meantime, Leo Beenhacker's side levelled the score on 73 minutes after Smolarek sent the ball home from a good cross from the right. Hoping to save the game, Diniyev substituted Alim Qurbanov for striker Ilqar Qurbanov, but that didn't work for the Azerbaijani team either. German Wolfsburg midfielder Icek Krzynovek soon scored Poland's second and, in the dying minutes of the match, the third goal.

At the post-match news conference the Azerbaijani coach said his team could not have done more. "Despite the defeat, I think we played well and put up stiff resistance to the opposition. I have to acknowledge that we were not strong enough to achieve the desired result. We started out well, scored first and dominated the first half. After the break, however, we tired quickly. The players' physique didn't allow them to fight to the end. I think the Poles beat us because of their better skills and strong character."

At the same time, Polish coach said he could not have expected the first minutes to unfold the way they did. "We got off to a poor start because, before the game, no-one thought we would concede an early goal. I think this was the result of our mistakes early on. We managed to rectify the situation only at halftime. After scoring their goal, the Azerbaijani team played defensive football, trying to hold onto the lead, and this made problems for us. Luckily, in the middle of the second half we turned the game around and seized control. I think Smolarek's goal was a watershed because after that we understood that we wouldn't waste our opportunity. To be honest, before the goal I feared that there wouldn't be enough time for us to save the match. Compared to the match in Warsaw, your team played well and this shows that your coaches have learned the lessons," the Poland coach said.

Premature complacency 

After the Poland match in Baku, the Azerbaijan national team left for Kazakhstan, which had just been beaten at home by Armenia. It appeared that the Kazakh side was still reliving the memories of their defeat at the hands of Armenia. Even the stadium announcer mistook Azerbaijan for Armenia, but seconds later corrected himself. 

As for the match itself, Xazar-Lankaran striker Vuqar Nadirov had two excellent scoring opportunities on 5 and 20 minutes, but the forward scored from his third attempt to put the ball past keeper David Loria. After a pass from Ceyhun Sultanov, Vuqar Nadirov sent it home inside the far post.

In the last minutes of the first half, Luxembourg referee Albert Towsant sent off Maksim Zhalmagambetov for a foul on Ramin Quliyev in the Azerbaijan penalty box. It seemed that nothing could prevent Azerbaijan from securing their first away win in competitive games, given their lead and numerical advantage. However, Sahin Diniyev's side became too complacent. The fact that players were clearly congratulating each other at the end of the first half is evidence of that.

The Kazakh pushed forward in the second half as Ruslan Baltiyev only just missed the target from long range on 49 minutes. Three minutes later, however, he got on the end of an excellent cross from Zhumuskaliyev and equalized. On 64 minutes the Kazakh skipper netted after a mistake by keeper Cahangir Hasanzada, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Several scoring opportunities were shunned by Branimir Subashic and Emin Imamaliyev, who came on for Aslan Karimov, both missing the target.

Thus the Azerbaijan national team has yet to win a competitive game away from home. At the same time, the draw gave the team its fifth point, which is a repeat of the best national team performance in qualification tournaments. We recall that in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers the Azerbaijan team coached by Igor Ponomarev also had five points at the end of the competition.

In a post-match news conference Sahin Diniyev congratulated the opposition on a good game. "We are currently an average European team. We already have five points, but several years ago we could not score more than two. It seems we are turning into a headache for many European sides. As far as today's game is concerned, it was a pretty open game where both teams wanted to win and had opportunities galore. I think Kazakh players weren't skilled enough to convert their chances into goals. By and large, I am more pleased with the game than the score," Diniyev summed up.

"The teams are pretty equal. Our first match in Baku also ended in a draw and then we beat Azerbaijan 1:0 (as part of the Alma TV Cup - author). This is another draw. At the beginning of the game we made many mistakes, as was the case in the match with Armenia. Although we got a point from this game, I don't feel happy. I am sure we could have achieved more. As for the player who was sent off, I am very angry with him," Kazakh coach Arno Pipers said.

It is curious that in the last two games - with Poland and Kazakhstan - Azerbaijan was first to score, but in neither game could the team hold on to the lead. Whereas earlier there was a syndrome of losing away from home, it appears that we are now witnessing the team's inability to keep the advantage. This, among other drawbacks, is something the national team coaches need to work on. There is a positive aspect as well: our team has scored in each of the last three games (Finland, Poland and Kazakhstan), which is quite reassuring.

Armenian sensation 

The most interesting thing happened after the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan fixture. Armenia beat Poland 1:0, producing the biggest sensation of the day. In the four-day campaign Azerbaijan and Armenia had the same rivals - Poland and Kazakhstan. And unlike Sahin Diniyev's side, which lost to Poland and tied the game with Kazakhstan, Armenia beat them both, rising to 6th place in the group standings with seven points. Kazakhstan have six points and is seventh, while Azerbaijan are bottom of Group A with 5 points.

In other words, the Armenians have done what we have been unable to do since Azerbaijan started participating in World and European Cup qualification tournaments - cross the barrier of five points. It appears that the Armenians are now in the right mood because, prior to the Kazakhstan match, they could not score a goal. Considering the fact that Armenia are Azerbaijan's next opponents in the campaign, it is a rather scary prospect…