Latvia held by Azerbaijan
Sunday, July 7, 2002
Article summary
Azerbaijan held an under-strength Latvia to a scoreless draw in Riga on Saturday.
Article body
Azerbaijan held an under-strength Latvia to a scoreless draw in Riga on Saturday as the two sides continued their preparation for their EURO 2004™ qualifying campaigns.
Little creativity
In an even game, both the hosts and the visitors were off colour and devoid of creativity. Samir Aliyev's shot on Andrejs Vanins' goal was the only effort on goal in the whole first half. Latvia, who were playing without the injured Marian Pahars and Igors Stepanovs, gave Viktors Morozs and Dzintars Zirnis debuts in the absence of these key players.
Double sending off
Latvia's Vits Rimkus and Azerbaijan's Ilham Yadullaev were sent off on 50 minutes for fighting. The best chance of the game came ten minutes later when Azeri forward Farrukh Ismaylov beat two defenders only to see his effort saved by Vanins. The last few minutes saw a bout of activity from the hosts, with Aleksandrs Eliseevs slotting Aleksandrs Isakovs' cross into the net -only for the referee to rule it out for offside.
'We played poorly'
"We played poorly. We lacked a leader who could direct the game for us. I am unhappy with Bleidelis, Rubins and Morozs. We missed Marian Pahars a lot," Lativa coach Aleksandrs Starkovs said after the match.
