Hearts still aflutter in Baku

Without a competitive victory in four years, Shakhin Diniyev's men had collected just one point from their previous four Group A games and little was expected of them against an unbeaten Finland side. However, Emin Imamaliev's late goal secured an unlikely victory and helped Azeris to love the national team again. In the build-up to the match, demands for Diniyev's resignation had come left, right and centre in Azerbaijan. However, having been subject to criticism following the 5-0 defeat against Poland, Imamaliev silenced the doubters with a fierce 82nd-minute drive which stopped hearts in Helsinki - and traffic in Baku.

In the hours following the final whistle, fans took to the streets en masse, waving national flags and causing endless traffic tailbacks all over the capital. With cries of "Azerbaijan! Azerbaijan!" echoing all around him, it was a time of supreme satisfaction for the 26-year-old Imamaliev. "I will remember this goal for the rest of my life," said the FK Inter Baku midfielder. "After the game against Poland I heard a lot of things about myself. You can't believe how much I prayed for us to win." Team-mate Aleksandr Chertoganov added: "We proved that the Azerbaijan national team can play football."

That was an assessment that Finland's English coach Roy Hodgson would seemingly not disagree with. Magnanimous in defeat, the former FC Internazionale Milano and Blackburn Rovers FC manager said: "I have to congratulate our opponents for a well-deserved win. Imamaliev scored a quite fantastic goal."

The usually impatient local media were no less impressed. Football+ wrote: "This was a totally different team from the one which played against Poland. The fans deserve special thanks too." It added that the game had "sparked reminders of the great [PFC] Neftchi side of the 1960s [who played in the Soviet top tier]."

Diniyev resisted the temptation to crow in defeat, saying: "I am not a hero - the players won it. Our motivation was totally different compared to the match in Poland. The changes in our lineup were not the reason for this victory. Everyone showed 100 per cent commitment. This result is not a sensation. The defeat in Warsaw was the real freak result." UEFA