National stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725,
Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Aqil Mövsümov took the kick off in the first half of the match. Gary Nethercot might have been able to make a better finish in the 5th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Gary Nethercot ran back to his position shaking his head. The audience thought a goal was coming when Gary Nethercot got free with Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov in the 5th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 6thth minute of the game Hidayät Bayramov who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Northern Ireland's Phillip Woodhall was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. After a rather tough play, Azerbaijan's Aqşin Aläkbärov got a free kick in the 7th minute. Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gary Nethercot in the 8th minute of the match. After 10th play minutes Hidayät Bayramov shot 0-1, a short shot which went by Phillip Woodhall and just under the crossbar into goal. In the 15th 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. Phillip Woodhall showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Aqil Mövsümov in the 15th minute of the match. Phillip Woodhall showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mehran Utandıbalayev, who was totally free with the ball in the 17th minute. 19 minutes into the match, Northern Ireland's Gary Nethercot sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Phillip Woodhall made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Aqil Mövsümov in the 20th minute of play. Northern Ireland's Phillip Woodhall played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cälal Elxanov in the 21st minute of play. In the 23rd minute Azerbaijan were awarded a corner. Gündüz Haqverdiyev went to the cornerflag to take it. Northern Ireland's Phillip Woodhall played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cälal Elxanov in the 28th minute of play. Phillip Woodhall showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Aqil Mövsümov in the 30th minute of the match. Phillip Woodhall made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Aqil Mövsümov in the 31st minute of play. Hidayät Bayramov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 35th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. In the 38th minute the ball was on its way in behind Azerbaijan's goalkeeper Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Phillip Woodhall showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cälal Elxanov, who was totally free with the ball in the 41st minute. In the 42nd minute Hidayät Bayramov 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. Gary Nethercot's late challenge caught a Azerbaijan's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Gary Nethercot helped the player get up and apologised. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.
Gary Nethercot sent away a hard shot on goal in the 51st minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. In the 51st minute Gary Nethercot shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a rather tough play, Northern Ireland's Colin Wright got a free kick in the 52nd minute. After having played for 57 minutes, Gary Nethercot managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Northern Ireland's supporters crossed their fingers, but Gary Nethercot was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 58 minutes into the match, Northern Ireland's Gary Nethercot sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov narrowly saved just below the crossbar. If Gary Nethercot had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 64th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Gary Nethercot blasted a shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov having to make a save. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gary Nethercot in the 67th minute of play forced Azerbaijan's goalkeeper Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Phillip Woodhall stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Hidayät Bayramov's shot from short distance in the 69th minute. In the 75th minute Gary Nethercot shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. A collision led to Northern Ireland getting a freekick after 78 minutes play. Den Nesbitt hit a great ball. Azerbaijan's Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Peter Smith in the 81st minute of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Gary Nethercot in the 83rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Nuşirävan Cäbrayilov prevented the ball from getting in the gole. When Northern Ireland's Ty Hislop in the 86th minute got a chance for a shot 86th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Azerbaijan's goalie prevented a goal. Phillip Woodhall made an important save on a dangerous shot by Cälal Elxanov in the 88th minute. In the 90th minute, Ty Hislop 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: 2-1. If Peter Smith had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 92nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Azerbaijan's supporters were dissatisfied at the end of the match because Northern Ireland had won, even though Azerbaijan had held more of the ball.
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