LERIK, Azerbaijan (Interstat) — Turan Tovuz defeated Sabah Baku 3-2 on Friday at Şəhər stadionu, scoring twice in a three-minute span late in the first half and adding another goal after the break before holding off a late comeback by the visitors.

Turan Tovuz opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Henrique Silva scored. Jo Batista doubled the lead in the 30th minute, and Turan Tovuz carried a 2-0 advantage into halftime. The home side extended its lead in the 67th minute when Jo Batista scored again, putting Turan Tovuz ahead 3-0. Sabah Baku responded three minutes later. Sabah Baku struggled to break through until after the home side had built its three-goal cushion.

Joy Lance Mickels scored for Sabah Baku in the 70th minute to cut the deficit to 3-1. Xander Severina pulled Sabah Baku within one in the 87th minute, but Turan Tovuz held on through stoppage time to secure the win. The visitors’ second goal arrived with three minutes left in regulation, but they could not find an equalizer. The late pressure produced a busy finishing sequence, with yellow cards issued in second-half stoppage time to Turan Tovuz’s Olabe R., another Turan Tovuz player, and Sabah Baku’s Zedadka A. Turan Tovuz also received a yellow card in the 90th minute of stoppage time, after Sabah Baku had been booked twice earlier in the match.

Sabah Baku’s Du Queiroz was shown a yellow card in the eighth minute, and Lepinjica I. was booked in the 56th minute. The match included a series of substitutions. Sabah Baku made two changes at halftime, bringing on Parris K. and Dashdamirov R. Turan Tovuz made a change in the 65th minute with Jankovic A. entering. Sabah Baku then made two changes in the 66th minute, with Mbina O. and Du Queiroz coming on. Turan Tovuz made two changes in the 76th minute, including the removal of Henrique Silva, and another two in the 81st minute, including the removal of Jo Batista. Sabah Baku also made a change in the 81st minute, bringing on Nwachukwu C. Both teams used five substitutes. The bookings and changes slowed the match in the second half, and neither side added another goal after Severina’s strike.

Jo Batista finished with two goals in 81 minutes for Turan Tovuz. Henrique Silva scored once in 76 minutes. For Sabah Baku, Joy Lance Mickels scored in 44 minutes, and Xander Severina scored in nine minutes. The home side’s early goals proved decisive as Sabah Baku’s late scores only narrowed the final margin.

The result moved Sabah Baku’s record in this competition to one win, one loss and two draws. Sabah Baku’s record across all competitions is now two wins, two losses and two draws. Turan Tovuz’s record in this competition is now two wins, one loss and one draw, while its record across all competitions stands at two wins, two losses and one draw.

The match followed recent results for both sides. Sabah Baku had drawn 0-0 with Qarabag, lost 2-1 to Dortmund, beaten Gabala 4-0, beaten Slavia Prague 2-0 and drawn 0-0 with Neftchi Baku in its previous matches this season. Turan Tovuz had drawn 1-1 with Neftchi Baku, lost 1-0 to Imisli FK, beaten Safa 1-0 and lost 2-0 to Fenerbahce in its previous matches. The home victory gave Turan Tovuz the stronger position in the competition table after the match.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Turan Tovuz 1, Sabah Baku 1, and its ELO system had projected Sabah Baku with a 58.5 percent probability to win. Sabah Baku had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 5 went under the over/under line of 2.5.