Lethargic Latvia leave it late

Latvia 2-2 Azerbaijan
UEFA EURO 2004™ finalists Latvia were unable to record a confidence-boosting win ahead of the finals in Portugal as Aleksandrs Starkovs' side were held at home in their last warm-up game before departing for Portugal.

Late equaliser
It took a late equaliser from Mihails Zemlinskis to earn a draw for the home side, who begin their EURO 2004™ campaign against the Czech Republic on 15 June.

Piedels in form
In an uneventful first half, the visitors created the only two genuine goalscoring chances but were unable to find a way past Latvian goalkeeper Andrejs Piedels, who replaced Aleksandrs Kolinko after the first-choice goalkeeper was ruled out by a leg injury.

Diving header
But Latvia came out from the break looking much more aggressive, and FC Dynamo Kyiv striker Maris Verpakovskis gave the hosts the lead in the 53rd minute with a diving header.

Unexpected turnaround
Azerbaijan equalised just two minutes later when Emin Guliyev fizzed a scorching shot from 25 metres into the top-left corner. Both sides pressed forward for a winner, and 16 minutes from time it seemed Azerbaijan were on course for an unexpected win as Anatolij Ponomarev was brought down inside the penalty area and Gurban Gurbanov scored from the spot.

Cool Zemlinskis
Latvia fought back, however, and were awarded a penalty of their own eight minutes from time after Andrejs Rubins was fouled. Zemlinskis converted to earn a draw. "I liked the mentality of my side, who fought back to claim a draw against a team possessing fine skill and fitness," said Starkovs. "Verpakovskis proved again that he is the man for the occasion with an excellent goal. We'll leave for Portugal in good spirits."

Group D
After their Czech challenge, Latvia, through to their first-ever major tournament, also meet Germany and the Netherlands in Group D.