Kazakhstan 2-1 Azerbaijan: Miroslav Beranek’s men win their first Euro 2012 qualifier game
Hosts Kazakhstan beat Azerbaijan 2-1 in a Group A match of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers that was played at Astana Arena on Friday.
It was an important victory for Kazakhstan to keep their qualification hopes alive, as they had to wait for six games to earn their first Euro 2012 qualifier victory. Kazakhstan are still placed at the bottom of the table with three points, while Germany
are the frontrunners in the group with 18 points with a perfect record.
Kazakhstan, who had the home crowd advantage with over 25,000 people buzzing in their favour, came up victorious with debutant Sergei Gridin ending up being the hero of the game. The 24-year-old completed a memorable debut for Kazakhstan, scoring two breathtaking
goals for his team in the second-half.
Azerbaijan started the match better of the two sides. The visitors not only dominated the possession, they also showed their dominance throughout the first-half. However, Berti Vogts's side lost their supremacy as Kazakhstan tightend up the screws in the
second-half and played the better football.
Bern Storck’s http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kazakhstan-c2931 took the lead by scoring the first goal of match in 57th
minute, which was later equalized by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Azerbaijan-c2845’s Vugar Nadyrov in the 63rd
minute, having come on as a substitute barely two minutes before the goal. But Kazakhstan did not lose their focus and stepped up a gear. Their hard work paid off in the 68th minute with Sergei Gridin scoring the second goal for Bern Storck’s
men, which sealed an important victory for Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan will believe they have pulled off an important victory especially after receiving a demoralizing 4-0 defeat at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904. On the other hand, only a miracle can save Azerbaijan’s campaign after losing all of their last four games against
Kazakhstan, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Montenegro-c2959 respectively.
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