Shamakhi took all three points against Araz 2:1 in the Azerbaijan Premier League on Saturday evening. The match came in the regular season, round six, and played out at the home ground of the hosts. It was a tight affair that decided itself through two penalties.
R. Apolinario opened the scoring in the twenty-seventh minute from the spot. The penalty gave Shamakhi the lead they would not surrender. To be fair, the spot-kick came after a break in play that the visitors could not handle.
A. Salyanskiy responded quickly enough. He found the net in the thirty-second minute and brought Araz level. The equaliser shifted the mood inside the stadium, if only for a short while.
And here's the thing — Shamakhi took the lead again before half-time. Apolinario converted his second penalty in the thirty-sixth minute, and that proved decisive. By then the visitors were already on the back foot.
The discipline record told its own story. Eight yellow cards appeared across the ninety minutes, with Shamakhi collecting four and Araz taking four. The cards came in clusters, particularly in the second half.
The result moves Shamakhi further from the drop zone while Araz remain rooted near the bottom. The hosts sit sixth with nine points from six games, a comfortable cushion for their position.
Araz stay twelfth with just two points, and the gap to safety looks wider still. The visitors have not tasted victory in six matches and now face another difficult fixture away from home.
