T&T got the better start, looking to go on the attack from the opening whistle. But, even early on, their passing let them down, as Azerbaijan tried to close down the midfield.

The speed of the T&T midfield had its advantages, though, as Azerbaijan responded by increasing the tempo, which gave the Warriors room to move through the middle.

T&T's first chance came when Cornell Glen ran onto the ball in the penalty area and slotted home in the 21st minute, but he was ruled offside.

Brazil-born Jose Luis Seabra, in his first game for the Soca Warriors, settled comfortably in the left midfield position and had some good passes inside, including a cross into the area three minutes later, which all but found Gary Glasgow.

But Glasgow, recently back from injury, looked out of touch in the match, missing some golden opportunities, even at point-blank range.

The Azerbaijan players looked good coming forward, with a solid build-up through a succession of passes and could have proved much more troublesome for the hosts with a more menacing attack.

Still, diminutive striker Nadir Nabiyev had his share of chances, with some searching runs into T&T goalkeeper Daurance Williams's area.

The hosts failed to finish some promising plays in the first half, but just when it seemed the opening period would bear no fruit from either team, Sealy found the mark, slamming home a parry by opposing goalie Rauf Mehdiyev on the right of the six-metre box after Anton Pierre's booming drive forced the initial save.

The second half produced more of the same, but Seabra began to struggle a bit on the left, while the forwards failed to capitalise on some threatening positions, Glasgow, in particular, missing out in some promising plays.

Azerbaijan had their best chance through a 59th minute free kick from Ismayil Mammadov, whose 23-metre curling effort had Williams diving at full stretch to preserve T&T's lead.

One of the bright spots for the home team in the match, though, was the defence, who could take credit for quelling most of the Azerbaijan advances.

Veteran T&T utilility player Anthony Rougier was able to take advantage of the slower visitors late in the match, with swift counter-attacks in the 82nd, then 84th minutes, but passes to Glasgow on each occasion were badly controlled.

Marlon Rojas had an interception on the left in the 88th, crossing to Glasgow in the penalty area, but the attacking midfielder only turned back into a crowd of defenders.

Azerbaijan had a last attempt at an equaliser in injury time, Nabiyev forcing Williams to tip the ball over the crossbar.

But their failure to find the net would mean Azerbaijan have all to play for when they meet the Soca Warriors again today at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella from 3.30 p.m.

TEAMS:

T&T-Daurance Williams, Jan Michael Williams, Marlon Rojas, Derek King, Anton Pierre, Atiba Charles, Cyd Gray, Anthony Rougier, Avery John, Leslie Fitzpatrick, Angus Eve, Jose Seabra, Michael Celestine, Nigel Pierre, Densil Theobald, Scott Sealy, Cornell Glen, Gary Glasgow.

Azerbaijan-Rauf Mehdiyev, Mikayil Yusifov, Rafail Amirbeyov, Rail Melikov, Samir Abbasov, Aftandil Hajiyev, Mahir Shukurov, Ilgar Abdulrahmanov,  Aslan Karimov, Ismayil Mammadov, Agil Mammadov. Rashad Abdullayev, Vasif Hagverdiyev, Nadir Nabiyev. Vugar Nadirov, Daniel Akhyanov.