Azerbaijan round-up: Shamkir rise to the occasion

FC Shamkir made an excellent start to their Azerbaijani championship group campaign with a 4-1 win on Saturday.

Kapaz fall apart
FC Kapaz proved to be no match for Shamkir at the Gorodskoy stadium, but they managed to hold the home side at bay until four minutes into the second half when Khagani Mamedov opened the scoring. Warming to his task, Mamedov added a second goal just four minutes later as Kapaz’s defensive strategy unraveled.

Mamedov strikes
The match was ended as a contest when Badri Kvaratskhelia added a third six minutes after the hour mark. Rovshan Akhmedov pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 70th minute but any hopes of a fightback were ended a minute from time when Ismayil Mamedov netted a fourth goal for the hosts.

Kudinov saves Agdam
FC Karabakh Agdam needed a late Dmitriy Kudinov goal to salvage a 1-1 draw in their clash at FC Khazar University. Vugar Gurbanov had given the home side the advantage after 52 minutes before Azersun's 73rd-minute effort earned a point for the visitors. In today's other game FC Shafa and FC Neftchi shared the spoils in a goalless draw.