Defender Rashad Sadygov equalised with a 56th-minute free kick after captain Gary Speed's 48th-minute goal had given the lead to Wales, who beat the Azeris 2-0 in Baku and 4-0 in Cardiff in the Euro 2004 qualifiers.

Three minutes into the second half, a long, high ball from the left into the far side of the box was headed back into centre by striker John Hartson and Speed stole between two defenders to steer it past goalkeeper Dimitry Kramarenko.

Azerbaijan equalised eight minutes later when Sadygov powered a free kick from 30 metres past a two-man wall and several players in the box, beating the despairing late dive of Paul Jones who managed only to touch the ball as it went in.

Striker Robbie Earnshaw, who came on in the 88th minute for midfielder Jason Koumas, almost stole victory for Wales 21 seconds before full time.

Fellow substitute John Oster crossed from the right and Earnshaw met the ball with a diving header only for Kramarenko to turn it on to his right hand post before it was cleared.

'I wasn't happy with the way we played, especially in the first half,' Wales manager Mark Hughes said.

'There was a marked improvement after the break and I thought we'd win when we got the opening goal,' he told BBC Sport Wales.

'But the free kick was a life-line for them and they picked up from there. Rob Earnshaw nearly won it at the end, but I'm grateful to get a point from that.'

Hughes noted that Azerbaijan have improved under Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto.

'Take nothing away from Azerbaijan, they are a decent side.

'We had a good passage of play to create our goal and I felt that we would go on from that to be the stronger side.

'But Sadygov had tried his free kicks a few times and had got the range. We needed to keep it out, but these things happen in football.'

In a mostly scrappy first half in which Azerbaijan had less possession but created marginally more danger, Hartson had the best chance when he picked up a loose ball 10 metres out and hit a fierce, low shot that was blocked by Kramarenko.

Wales had a scare in the opening minutes when Sadygov hinted at what was to come later by going just wide with a free kick from 40 metres.

Just before the half hour midfielder Anatoli Ponomarev turned and fired a rising shot just outside the near post.

Ponomarev almost put Azerbaijan ahead in the 58th minute but Jones dived low to his right to turn away a low shot from the left.

Poland beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in Belfast in an earlier Group Six game while England were playing Austria in Vienna later.

Mark Hughes admitted Wales did not play well in claiming a 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan - but promised things would be different on Wednesday at the Millennium Stadium when Northern Ireland visit Cardiff.

Hughes saw Gary Speed's second half goal cancelled out by a long-range Rashad Sadikhov free-kick which flew through the wall and into the net off the flailing arms of Paul Jones.

Hughes said: 'The goal was a succession of mistakes, and if we had hung on to our lead for just a little longer I believe their heads would have started to drop and we would have gone on to win.

'But in the first half our passing was not good enough and we didn't get on to the ball enough.

'In the second half we improved and got our front men into the game - earlier they had been playing on scraps.

'Once we got our noses in front we should have taken control.

'We looked in decent shape, but their goal encouraged them and it turned out to be a difficult evening.

'When we scored they had started to get discouraged, but the goal was a lifeline for them.'

Azerbaijan have improved immeasurably since Carlos Alberto took over, and the atmosphere and culture tests opposing teams to the limits.

And Hughes continued: 'People seem to think that this is an easy place to come, but it is not.

'They have improved as a side and we know from experience how hard it is here.

'We have not played particularly well and still got a point, that is the plus of the evening.

'But we will pick ourselves up - and we have a really big game on Wednesday now that we know we have to win.

'We know what we have to do and have to improve on.

'I threw Robert Earnshaw and tried to win the game, and their goalkeeper made a great save to push the ball onto the post.

'You will see an improvement on Wednesday.'

Source: soccernet.com