Andorra record rare draw in Estonia
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
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Estonia 1-1 Andorra
The Group 2 minnows earned only their second point in U21 qualifying history, and first on the road, courtesy of Luigi San Nicolas's equaliser.
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Andorra earned only their second point, and first away from home, in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying history as they recovered from a goal down to draw with Estonia in Tallinn.
Beaten in all eight of their fixtures in the 2011–13 competition, the visitors replicated the result they had achieved against the Faroe Islands in November 2009.
However, another defeat seemed on the cards for Justo Ruiz's side – they had lost their first three Group 2 fixtures 3-0 – when Maksim Podholjuzin capitalised on uncertainty in a hitherto compact Andorra defence ten minutes before the break.
Andorra, though, were rewarded for a bright start to the second period with a surprise equaliser. Luigi San Nicolas, unmarked, finished off a deep cross from Leonel Alves. They might have scored a second with a quarter of an hour remaining had Xavier Vieira's shot not drifted narrowly wide.
It was a moment which could have proved pivotal, because Andreas Raudsepp and Joel Indermitte both went close for Martin Reim's hosts in the dying minutes.