ENGLAND MATCH REPORTS

  Owen 22
1. Hasanzade
2. Amirbekov
3. Hajiyev
4. Shukurov
5. E Guliyev (I Gurbanov 75)
6. K Guliyev 30
8. Kerimov
10. Ponomarev
11.

Nabiev (Abdullayev 79)
14. Sadygov 79
17. Aliyev (G Gurbanov 59)
Substitutes
7. M Gurbanov
9. G Gurbanov
12. Mekhtiev
13. Abbasov
15. Abdullayev
16. Mammedov
18. I Gurbanov

MATCH DETAILS

Match: World Cup Qualifier
Venue: Baku
Date: 13th September 2004
Rankings: A114 E7

Att: 15,000
Ref: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg)
Weather: Wet & Windy
Rating: 

MATCH STATS

1 Shots on target 5
9 Shots off target 3
4 Blocked Shots 4
6 Corners 6
20 Fouls conceded 19
3 Offsides 3
2 Yellow cards 3
0 Red cards 0
40% Possession 60%
1. Robinson
2. G Neville
3. Ash Cole 71
4. Butt 78
5. Ferdinand
6. Campbell
7. Jenas (Wright-Phillips 72)
8. Lampard
9. Rooney 39 (J Cole 84)
10. Owen
11. Defoe (A Smith 55)
Substitutes
12. King
13. James
14. Terry
15. Hargreaves
16. J Cole
17. Wright-Phillips
18. Alan Smith
 
MINI REPORT

The least said about this game the better, not exactly a classic. Job done, three points in the bag is all that matter I suppose but I would have been nice to see a few more scoring opportunities.

The game was given the go ahead shortly before kick-off despite high winds and rain in Baku. Sven Goran Eriksson decided to bring in Jermaine Jenas in place of the suspended David Beckham and that was the only change from the team that beat Wales 2-0 a few days before.

Early on England tried to play football on the slippery surface and had a few early chances before Michael Owen gave them the lead on twenty-two minutes, Ashley Cole was released down the left by Frank Lampard and the Arsenal left-back’s cross was headed home well by Owen. Azerbaijan as expected did not let England have it all their own way and caused a few nervous moments for the defence in the first half.

The second half was abysmal, England created nothing and Azerbaijan defended deep.

PRESS MATCH REPORTS

AFTER MATCH COMMENTS

Michael Owen told Sky Sports: "It was a great ball from Ashley Cole and the wind was swirling everywhere, everyone thought the defender would get it. Even my header bent in the wind, the conditions were tough but obviously it helped me for the goal. It was important for us to win the game, the players come second and it is how we do as a team that matters.

"It's nice to get a goal but the game's not just about scoring. I can play well and not score, like I did the other night. It was always going to be difficult, away from home it's very tough. Over the years I've seen it become 100% more difficult going away to play. We would have taken a 1-0 win before the match, but it would have been nice to have scored a couple."

Sven-Goran Eriksson praised Michael Owen after another crucial contribution for England and insisted he never had any doubts about his worth to the side.

Eriksson said: "There were a lot of discussions as always in our country as to whether Michael should or should not play. But I thought he played very well against Wales on Saturday and very well today too. Nobody can dispute the fact that he scored tonight.

"It was an important goal and he is in very good shape even if he has been playing very little for Real Madrid. His goal record for England is excellent. I said that when there were discussions as to whether he should be in the team. 28 goals in 65 games at this level is fantastic."