Bremen pair take Austria past Azerbaijan

Austria made it two wins out of two in UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group A after a comfortable victory that leaves Azerbaijan still searching for a first point.

Sebastian Prödl took all of 130 seconds to open the scoring and his SV Werder Bremen club-mate Marko Arnautović struck twice after the break to ensure Austria went one better than their opening 2-0 home defeat of Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan, beaten 6-1 in Germany last month, will hope to get off the mark at home to Turkey on Tuesday when Austria visit Belgium.

The home side won their first corner early and immediately made it count, Prödl losing his marker and stooping to turn in Zlatko Junuzović's set piece. Both teams threatened from dead-ball situations but Azerbaijan could not get an effort on target and were increasingly forced back into their own half, Stefan Maierhofer producing two good saves out of Kamran Agayev before the half-time whistle.

Little changed after the break, Austria constantly piling forward with Azerbaijan unable to fashion a chance. That pressure told in the 53rd minute when Maierhofer broke down the left and, having failed with his first attempt, pulled the ball back to the edge of the box where Arnautović needed only one touch before shooting in through a crowd of players.

Continuing to press down the flanks, Austria remained on top with towering striker Maierhofer a consant menace. However, it was Arnautović who wrapped up victory with with a delightful chip having been sent clear in added time.