With just barely more than 24 hours passing since Fernando Santos’ dismissal from the Azerbaijani hotseat, the last thing the hosts needed at a nervy Tofiq Bahramov Stadium was more drama.
But it took just two minutes for them to apparently concede a penalty, when Bahlul Mustafazada was penalised for a rough challenge inside the box. Referee Vassilis Fotias would see that decision reversed by a VAR review, but with Ukraine accounting for more than 70% of the possession in the opening half-hour, Azerbaijan still looked uneasy.
In terms of shots on target, the game started to heat up around 10 minutes before the break, with Ivan Kaliuzhnyi seeing a shot at the end of a corner blocked.
However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic, as Anatoliy Trubin pulled off a stunning save at the other end to thwart a free kick from Emin Mahmudov, just before the ball could creep under the crossbar and give Azerbaijan an undeserved lead – an event that would also have seen them open the scoring for the first time in 15 matches.
That might have given Azerbaijan something to build on in the second half. Ukraine had other ideas though, and took the lead just five minutes after the restart, when a move down the right flank saw Oleksandr Zubkov power past his marker and square the ball, which an onrushing Heorhiy Sudakov buried hard and low past Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev.
That marked his fourth senior international goal, coming just a day short of a year since his last.
Some inspiration was desperately needed if Azerbaijan were to prevent an eighth loss in nine WC qualifiers on home soil, and an unexpected lifeline arrived just past the three-quarter mark, when Oleksandr Zinchenko was penalised for handball inside the box after a VAR review.
Determined to avenge his earlier failed attempt to get on the scoresheet, Mahmudov stepped up and sent a chipped effort into the right corner past the flailing Trubin.
With this late twist, both sides are off the mark at the second attempt in this qualification cycle, but could see a five-point gap to automatic qualification open up later tonight. While there are rocky days ahead in the search for a new permanent manager, Azerbaijan can see this as a sign of progress after losing 5-0 to Iceland in their opening qualifier. Meanwhile, where Ukraine are concerned, they’ll want to tighten their defence – this match was the ninth of their last 12 to see both teams score.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emin Mahmudov (Azerbaijan)