National cup

National stadium
Spectators: 5149 (Terracing: 3862, Seating: 1184, VIP seats: 103) Azerbaijan's Aqil Mövsümov started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Mänsur Rzayev stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Rodney Cunningham's shot from short distance in the 3rd minute. In the 9th minute Rodney Cunningham shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Mänsur Rzayev saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 12thth minute of the game Ty Hislop who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Azerbaijan's Mänsur Rzayev was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 14 minutes into the match, Azerbaijan's goal looked a bit too open when Rodney Cunningham came free, but Mänsur Rzayev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Mänsur Rzayev stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Rodney Cunningham's shot from short distance in the 21st minute. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Rodney Cunningham in the 28th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Mänsur Rzayev saved Azerbaijan from getting behind. 31 minutes had been played when some careless play by Northern Ireland's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Gündüz Haqverdiyev was slow to take the kick. During this time Azerbaijan's players had a chance to rest. Gündüz Haqverdiyev made a great header on Azerbaijan's corner, it was just that Northern Ireland's Phillip Woodhall managed to reach the ball for a save. Aqşin Aläkbärov hit a great freekick 33 minutes into the match. In the 34th minute of the match Tommy Boyce sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Mänsur Rzayev skillfully saved the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Rodney Cunningham got free with Mänsur Rzayev in the 36th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Rodney Cunningham received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 41st minute. Mänsur Rzayev tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 43rd minute Aqil Mövsümov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Phillip Woodhall saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Gündüz Haqverdiyev hit a great freekick 43 minutes into the match. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 1-0.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Rodney Cunningham was the one to do the kick off. A collision led to Northern Ireland getting a freekick after 55 minutes play. Lloyd Mumford hit a great ball. Mänsur Rzayev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ty Hislop, who was totally free with the ball in the 60th minute. Northern Ireland's Kiera Archer was substituted for Tommy Boyce. Northern Ireland made a substitution. Colin Wright replaced Ty Hislop. Northern Ireland were awarded a corner in the 62th minute after Azerbaijan's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Colin Wright took the corner. With a little luck, Northern Ireland's Phillip Woodhall got control of the ball when Şair Baloğlanov tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 73rd minute, Kiera Archer left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Northern Ireland fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-0. In the 78th minute the ball was on its way in behind Azerbaijan's goalkeeper Mänsur Rzayev, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 79th minute the ball was on its way in behind Azerbaijan's goalkeeper Mänsur Rzayev, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 80th minute of the match Northern Ireland got a corner. Azerbaijan's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Colin Wright ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner ended in Colin Wright almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Azerbaijan's Mänsur Rzayev did a great save. After 85 minutes Azerbaijan's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Colin Wright who took care of the corner kick. Azerbaijan's Mänsur Rzayev played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kiera Archer in the 87th minute of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Kiera Archer in the 89th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Mänsur Rzayev saved Azerbaijan from getting behind. After 91 minutes of play, Northern Ireland's Kiera Archer made it 4-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Mänsur Rzayev was left in no man's land by his defense there! After a rather tough play, Azerbaijan's Müşfiq Ähäcanov got a free kick in the 94th minute. When Kiera Archer came up free with the goalie in the 96th minute, the Northern Ireland fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Kiera Archer couldn't finish the play. Northern Ireland's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.