AZERBAIJAN               1

Abdullayev 53

MALTA                        1

Muscat 37

A resilient Malta side earned its second point in the UEFA Nations League Group D3 campaign after holding Azerbaijan to a 1-1 draw at the Baku Olympic Stadium.

Azerbaijan enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but Rowen Muscat found the net for the Maltese against the run of play, late in the first half, to give the visitors hope of a first competitive win since 2013.

But Azerbaijan, who were guilty of several missed chances, finally got the reward they deserved when they brought the scores level through Araz Abdullayev.

Azerbaijan almost punished Malta on their first mistake when Araz Abdullayev pounced on a Ryan Camilleri short pass and blasted a long-range shot which was blocked by Andrew Hogg.

Mahir Madatov was first on the rebound but the Malta custodian denied the Azeris yet again. 

Moments later, Hogg tipped a Dmitri Nazarov free-kick onto the bar as the home side were inching up their way on the field as the half wore on.

On eight minutes, Paul Fenech attempted his luck from outside the area but his effort went wide. 

Azerbaijan thought they had forged ahead on 20 minutes when Rufat Dadasov stabbed the ball home from point blank range but his goal was ruled out for offside.

Past the half-hour mark, Camilleri came to Malta's rescue when he deviated  Madatov's shot wide with a last-gasp tackle. 

However, it was Malta who forged ahead on 37 minutes. 

Joseph Mbong latched the ball towards Juan Corbalan on the right hand and the Gżira United player darted into the box before hitting an angled drive which was pushed away by Kamran Agayev.

Corbalan, on his second cap for Malta, quickly sent a low cross towards Rowen Muscat who had the simplest of tasks in sending the ball into empty net.  

The goal came as a cold shower for the hosts who tried to hit back immediately through an Abdullayev strike from the edge off the area that was parried away by Hogg.

Minutes later, the Malta no. 1 denied Maksim Medvedev .

On the brink of half-time, Malta survived another scare when Dadasov squandered a golden opportunity as he surprisingly missed the target in front of an empty net as the Maltese ended the first half in front. 

Azerbaijan pushed for the equaliser in the second half and they made their pressure count on 53 minutes through Abdullayev who unmarked himself inside the eighteen and fired a firm drive past Hogg.

Malta’s first offensive play in second 45 minutes came through an Effiong header but he could not direct the ball into the net.  

Dadashov wasted another chance to send the Azeris ahead when his close-range header struck the woodwork past the hour mark. 

Moments later, the crossbar denied the Maltese this time as Corbalan saw his shot coming off the woodwork. 

Late in the game, Richard Almeida could have won it for Azerbaijan but he skied his effort amid the whistles of the home crowd for the final result.