Finland 1 Azerbaijan 0 - It's the points that count
Hosts struggle to break down dogged Azeri defence before Forssell's second-half penalty
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By William Moore
“Three points. That’s all that matters. In a year’s time nobody will remember the score or how it came about.”
That was one fan's pragmatic analysis of Finland’s 1-0 home win against Azerbaijan, in front of a decent crowd of 22,000 spectators, many of whom probably expected more from this 2010 World Cup qualifying match.
The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot and in rather curious fashion.
After just over an hour of banging their heads against a massed Azeri defence and having nothing much to show for it, Finland won a corner on the left.
The ball was hoisted across and someone or other got on the end of it and sent it over the bar for an apparent goal-kick.
The crowd barely reacted, but there did seem to be some action going on between the referee and one of the visiting players, and a card was raised, and it suddenly dawned on people that the ball was being placed on the penalty spot.
The Scottish referee William Collum had noticed a sharp tug on captain Sami Hyypiä’s shirt in the box (see photo).
Mikael Forssell stepped up and put the ball away with main force, and everyone could breathe a little more easily.
But not much.
Immediately after the goal, the Finns - who had been quite energetic to no great avail in the first half, and who had completely dominated the proceedings on a slippery surface - now inexplicably took their foot off the gas and allowed Azerbaijan to enjoy their strongest spell in the entire match.
Midfielder Teemu Tainio expressed something bordering on disgust after the game, saying it was unbelievable the way that the Finns offered their opponents a lifeline and the space to keep the ball.
“The goal was the only positive thing to take out of the game”, he charged.
Fortunately the Azeris were as ineffective in the final third of the pitch as their hosts had been hitherto, and after fifteen minutes or so of watching anxiously as his team did its best to undo their hard-earned lead, coach Stuart Baxter sent on Jari Litmanen to huge roars of applause, presumably with instructions to steady the ship and make sure nothing untoward happened.
And that is how it stayed to the end.
Those who had thoroughly enjoyed Finland’s 3-3 draw against Germany may have wondered if they had dreamt all the excitement of last month, for this was a very different kettle of fish.
The Finns tried to break down the Azeri defence, but with the visitors putting nine men behind the ball for much of the time and showing little by way of ambition, even on the break, this was more of a war of attrition than anything else.
In the first half the Finns had carved out three or four decent chances while Jussi Jääskeläinen in the Finnish goal could probably have completed the Times crossword for all the work he had to do. One shot from distance was about the sum of it.
Daniel Sjölund came close for the hosts just before half-time, when the Finns might have had a viable shout for a penalty, but the best chance fell to Mika Väyrynen after only 11 minutes.
Paulus Roiha put Väyrynen through with a deft lob over the back line.
However, his volley cannoned into the face of the Azeri keeper Kamran Agajev and bobbled away to safety.
Mikael Forssell worked hard up front, and he deserved his goal, even if it wasn’t from open play.
He managed to turn and get off a shot two or three times, but Agajev got by on luck and pluck.
Behind Forssell, Teemu Tainio and Roman Eremenko made pretty patterns in midfield, but all too often the last pass was overly heavy - I lost count of the times it was hoofed into touch on the left in front of the main stand in the second half.
Equally, the Finns often seemed annoyingly eager to duck responsiblity for taking a pop from the edge of the area: Saturday's conditions were not exactly easy for the goalkeepers.
Jari Litmanen’s arrival in place of Eremenko with ten minutes left was treated almost like the Messiah’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, even if he did give the ball away rather comically on at least one occasion.
Litmanen nevertheless earned his corn on his 116th appearance, calming things as Finland ran down the clock at the end.
Stuart Baxter would be wise to remind his team firmly of the fragility of a one-goal lead: there are countless teams out there who would have made them pay dearly for that second-half lapse.
Finland have four points from two games, and I suppose that is what matters for now, but the fans behind the goal on the North Bank probably deserved better on the night.
They were in good voice throughout, and responded with gusto every time an Azeri player went down in agony only to leap back onto the field after the miracle-working services of the team doctor.
I suppose one can hardly grumble much about a referee who spots an infringement nobody else saw and gives a match-winning penalty to your team.
Nevertheless Mr. Collum had by that stage already got the home fans rather piqued with some odd decisions - not least a yellow card for Väyrynen for what looked like a perfectly fair challenge. Toni Kallio was also booked later on, and since he also saw yellow against Germany he will miss Wednesday’s match against Russia in Moscow.
Apropos of that game, Finland will naturally be in a completely different position against the Russians, even if they were without several of their first-string squad - including striker Roman Pavljutšenko, defender Denis Kolodin, and midfielder Dimitri Torbinski - for their Saturday game against Germany.
The Germans won 2-1 in Dortmund, but were given a stiff test in the second half and were saved by the woodwork on a couple of occasions.
Even against a possibly weakened Russian side, Stuart Baxter & Co. would probably be more than happy to take a draw in Moscow if it were offered today.
Germany lead Group 4 with seven points from their three matches, while Wales - who struggled to overcome lowly Liechtenstein 2-0 in a sparsely-populated Millennium Stadium in Cardiff - are in second place on six points from three.
Finland have four points from their two matches, and Russia three from their earlier 2-1 win over Wales. Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein have a point apiece from their goalless draw in Baku.
Finally, this writer is pleased to give a big thumbs-up to the Finnish FA, who clearly took to heart the negative feedback over long lines for holders of season-ticket cards when getting into the Germany game.
By contrast, on this occasion everything went like greased lightning, and if the boisterous singing of one group of happy cardholders was anything to go by, Pekka Hämäläinen will have no trouble getting himself re-elected as FA President, if he chooses to run.
Finland–Azerbaijan 1–0 (0–0)
62. Mikael Forssell (pen.) 1–0.
Finland:
Jussi Jääskeläinen; Petri Pasanen, Sami Hyypiä, Hannu Tihinen, Toni Kallio (booked, 73); Paulus Roiha (63. Antti Pohja), Mika Väyrynen (booked, 38), Roman Eremenko (80. Jari Litmanen), Teemu Tainio (93. Markus Heikkinen), Daniel Sjölund; Mikael Forssell.
Subs not used: Otto Fredrikson, Berat Sadik, Veli Lampi, Niklas Moisander.
Azerbaijan: Kamran Agajev, Raul Malikov, Saša Junisoglu (booked, 62.), Mahir Šukurov, Aleksandr Tšertoganov (80. Araz Abdullajev - booked, 92.), Samir Abbasov, Branimir Subasic (booked, 24., 74. Anatoli Ponomarev), Rašad Sadigov, Elvin Mamedov (59.Javin Huseinov), Zeinal Zeinalov, Leandro Gomez.
Attendance: 22,124.
Referee: William Collum (Scotland)
Weather: c. 10°C, overcast, occasional light drizzle, pitch wet
P.S. Finland's Under-21 team lost 2-1 away to Austria in their European Championships play-offs first leg on Friday, and will be in action again in Turku on Tuesday.
Perparim Hetemaj's second-half goal keeps the Finnish hopes alive, but it will be an uphill struggle against an Austrian side who are not used to losing.
They were the first to qualify for the play-offs leading to the UEFA European Championships finals in Sweden next June, and have now gone 14 matches without defeat.
“Three points. That’s all that matters. In a year’s time nobody will remember the score or how it came about.”
That was one fan's pragmatic analysis of Finland’s 1-0 home win against Azerbaijan, in front of a decent crowd of 22,000 spectators, many of whom probably expected more from this 2010 World Cup qualifying match.
The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot and in rather curious fashion.
After just over an hour of banging their heads against a massed Azeri defence and having nothing much to show for it, Finland won a corner on the left.
The ball was hoisted across and someone or other got on the end of it and sent it over the bar for an apparent goal-kick.
The crowd barely reacted, but there did seem to be some action going on between the referee and one of the visiting players, and a card was raised, and it suddenly dawned on people that the ball was being placed on the penalty spot.
The Scottish referee William Collum had noticed a sharp tug on captain Sami Hyypiä’s shirt in the box (see photo).
Mikael Forssell stepped up and put the ball away with main force, and everyone could breathe a little more easily.
But not much.
Immediately after the goal, the Finns - who had been quite energetic to no great avail in the first half, and who had completely dominated the proceedings on a slippery surface - now inexplicably took their foot off the gas and allowed Azerbaijan to enjoy their strongest spell in the entire match.
Midfielder Teemu Tainio expressed something bordering on disgust after the game, saying it was unbelievable the way that the Finns offered their opponents a lifeline and the space to keep the ball.
“The goal was the only positive thing to take out of the game”, he charged.
Fortunately the Azeris were as ineffective in the final third of the pitch as their hosts had been hitherto, and after fifteen minutes or so of watching anxiously as his team did its best to undo their hard-earned lead, coach Stuart Baxter sent on Jari Litmanen to huge roars of applause, presumably with instructions to steady the ship and make sure nothing untoward happened.
And that is how it stayed to the end.
Those who had thoroughly enjoyed Finland’s 3-3 draw against Germany may have wondered if they had dreamt all the excitement of last month, for this was a very different kettle of fish.
The Finns tried to break down the Azeri defence, but with the visitors putting nine men behind the ball for much of the time and showing little by way of ambition, even on the break, this was more of a war of attrition than anything else.
In the first half the Finns had carved out three or four decent chances while Jussi Jääskeläinen in the Finnish goal could probably have completed the Times crossword for all the work he had to do. One shot from distance was about the sum of it.
Daniel Sjölund came close for the hosts just before half-time, when the Finns might have had a viable shout for a penalty, but the best chance fell to Mika Väyrynen after only 11 minutes.
Paulus Roiha put Väyrynen through with a deft lob over the back line.
However, his volley cannoned into the face of the Azeri keeper Kamran Agajev and bobbled away to safety.
Mikael Forssell worked hard up front, and he deserved his goal, even if it wasn’t from open play.
He managed to turn and get off a shot two or three times, but Agajev got by on luck and pluck.
Behind Forssell, Teemu Tainio and Roman Eremenko made pretty patterns in midfield, but all too often the last pass was overly heavy - I lost count of the times it was hoofed into touch on the left in front of the main stand in the second half.
Equally, the Finns often seemed annoyingly eager to duck responsiblity for taking a pop from the edge of the area: Saturday's conditions were not exactly easy for the goalkeepers.
Jari Litmanen’s arrival in place of Eremenko with ten minutes left was treated almost like the Messiah’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, even if he did give the ball away rather comically on at least one occasion.
Litmanen nevertheless earned his corn on his 116th appearance, calming things as Finland ran down the clock at the end.
Stuart Baxter would be wise to remind his team firmly of the fragility of a one-goal lead: there are countless teams out there who would have made them pay dearly for that second-half lapse.
Finland have four points from two games, and I suppose that is what matters for now, but the fans behind the goal on the North Bank probably deserved better on the night.
They were in good voice throughout, and responded with gusto every time an Azeri player went down in agony only to leap back onto the field after the miracle-working services of the team doctor.
I suppose one can hardly grumble much about a referee who spots an infringement nobody else saw and gives a match-winning penalty to your team.
Nevertheless Mr. Collum had by that stage already got the home fans rather piqued with some odd decisions - not least a yellow card for Väyrynen for what looked like a perfectly fair challenge. Toni Kallio was also booked later on, and since he also saw yellow against Germany he will miss Wednesday’s match against Russia in Moscow.
Apropos of that game, Finland will naturally be in a completely different position against the Russians, even if they were without several of their first-string squad - including striker Roman Pavljutšenko, defender Denis Kolodin, and midfielder Dimitri Torbinski - for their Saturday game against Germany.
The Germans won 2-1 in Dortmund, but were given a stiff test in the second half and were saved by the woodwork on a couple of occasions.
Even against a possibly weakened Russian side, Stuart Baxter & Co. would probably be more than happy to take a draw in Moscow if it were offered today.
Germany lead Group 4 with seven points from their three matches, while Wales - who struggled to overcome lowly Liechtenstein 2-0 in a sparsely-populated Millennium Stadium in Cardiff - are in second place on six points from three.
Finland have four points from their two matches, and Russia three from their earlier 2-1 win over Wales. Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein have a point apiece from their goalless draw in Baku.
Finally, this writer is pleased to give a big thumbs-up to the Finnish FA, who clearly took to heart the negative feedback over long lines for holders of season-ticket cards when getting into the Germany game.
By contrast, on this occasion everything went like greased lightning, and if the boisterous singing of one group of happy cardholders was anything to go by, Pekka Hämäläinen will have no trouble getting himself re-elected as FA President, if he chooses to run.
Finland–Azerbaijan 1–0 (0–0)
62. Mikael Forssell (pen.) 1–0.
Finland:
Jussi Jääskeläinen; Petri Pasanen, Sami Hyypiä, Hannu Tihinen, Toni Kallio (booked, 73); Paulus Roiha (63. Antti Pohja), Mika Väyrynen (booked, 38), Roman Eremenko (80. Jari Litmanen), Teemu Tainio (93. Markus Heikkinen), Daniel Sjölund; Mikael Forssell.
Subs not used: Otto Fredrikson, Berat Sadik, Veli Lampi, Niklas Moisander.
Azerbaijan: Kamran Agajev, Raul Malikov, Saša Junisoglu (booked, 62.), Mahir Šukurov, Aleksandr Tšertoganov (80. Araz Abdullajev - booked, 92.), Samir Abbasov, Branimir Subasic (booked, 24., 74. Anatoli Ponomarev), Rašad Sadigov, Elvin Mamedov (59.Javin Huseinov), Zeinal Zeinalov, Leandro Gomez.
Attendance: 22,124.
Referee: William Collum (Scotland)
Weather: c. 10°C, overcast, occasional light drizzle, pitch wet
P.S. Finland's Under-21 team lost 2-1 away to Austria in their European Championships play-offs first leg on Friday, and will be in action again in Turku on Tuesday.
Perparim Hetemaj's second-half goal keeps the Finnish hopes alive, but it will be an uphill struggle against an Austrian side who are not used to losing.
They were the first to qualify for the play-offs leading to the UEFA European Championships finals in Sweden next June, and have now gone 14 matches without defeat.
Helsingin Sanomat