Estonia edged out

Ecuador 2-1 Estonia
Johnny Baldeon scored twice to help Ecuador beat Estonia 2-1 in a friendly on Wednesday, their second win over the Europeans in four days.

Youngsters tested
Baldeon, one of several youngsters tested by coach Hernan Dario Gomez in a team missing foreign-based players like captain Alex Aguinaga, opened his account in the 24th minute when he lobbed the ball over stranded goalkeeper Sergei Pareiko. The Deportivo Quito striker extended his side's lead three minutes into the second half when he turned his marker before scoring with an angled shot.

Zahovaiko goal
Ecuador, who won Sunday's meeting between the two sides 1-0 in Guayaquil, created a number of chances but lost concentration in the 67th minute, allowing Vjatsheslav Zahovaiko - one of half a dozen FC Flora players in the Estonia lineup - time and space to score with a left-footed shot. For the most part though Estonia, unused to the high altitude of Quito which lies 2,800 metres above sea level, sat back and attempted to catch their opponents on the counter-attack.

Building towards qualifiers
The two matches have given Ecuador their first wins since they were knocked out in the first round of last year's FIFA World Cup in their first appearance at the finals. Estonia are building towards their next UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier against Bulgaria on 2 April. They are currently third in Group 8, with one point from their opening two games.