Pierre, Smith goals dump Azerbaijan 2-0

STRIKERS Nigel “Croc” Pierre and Conrad Smith were on target for Trinidad and Tobago as the Soca Warriors blanked Azerbaijan 2-0 in the second of their two-match friendly international series at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, yesterday. But despite the victory the local lads, rated 61st in the latest FIFA World Rankings, were average at best against their spirited European opponents, positioned 115th in the world.

Pierre opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, capitalising on a goalkeeping blunder by Rauf Mehdiyev, but the first half was littered with a number of stray passes between both teams. The sparse crowd of approximately 2,000 really had something to shout about in the second half, when a TT 50th minute attack, involving Pierre, led to a blast by Cyd Gray which sailed over bar. Azerbaijan had their first meaningful attack on the hour-mark, when Mahir Shukurov sent Vasif Hagverdiyev free on the right and his cross was headed wide, from a tight angle, by Kanan Karimov.

Three minutes later, the visitors constructed a quick counterattack on the left, with Karimov collecting a pass from Ilgar Abdurakhmanov before sending his left-footed drive against the body of TT’s goalkeeper Daurance Williams. Aftandil Hajiyev dispossessed Gray inside the TT penalty box but sent his attempt high in the 66th, a miss which would later return to haunt the former Russian republic two minutes later. Veteran midfielder Angus Eve, thriving in the substitutes’ role, led a breakaway before laying off to fellow reserve Cornell Glen whose squared-pass was drilled home, via Azerbaijan’s reserve keeper Mikayil Yusifov’s hands, by an unmarked Smith. Pierre failed to add to his tally in the 83rd when he shot straight at Yusifov from a feed by Michael Celestine but victory was never in doubt for Trinidad and Tobago, who would now host Haiti in back-to-back matches, on February 1 at the Queen’s Park Oval and February 3 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

Teams: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Daurance Williams; Derek King (capt), Anton Pierre, David Atiba Charles, Cyd Gray, Avery John (Marlon Rojas 69th); Anthony Rougier (Angus Eve 76th), Jose Luis Seabra (Michael Celestine 82nd), Leslie Fitzpatrick (Conrad Smith 55th); Nigel Pierre (Densil Theobald 89th), Scott Sealy (Cornell Glen 55th).
AZERBAIJAN: Rauf Mehdiyev (Mikayil Yusifov 46th); Rafael Amirbayov (Vugar Guliyev 46th), Aftandil Hajiyev, Samir Abasov (Rail Milikov 46th), Mahir Shukurov; Agil Mammadov (Rashad Abdullayev 46th), Ilgar Abdurakhmanov, Aslan Karimov (capt), Ismayil Mammadov (Iugar Nadirov 32nd - Vasif Hagverdiyev 45th); Nadir Nabiyev, Kanan Karimov.