But T&T threatened to keep themselves out of the game, poor passing negating promising moves up front. A gift of a ball from Mehdiyev to Nigel Pierre gave the hosts their first in the 23rd, though, as he mis-hit a back pass directly to Pierre at the edge of the area, and the striker obliged, slamming home for a 1-0 lead.

Seabra looked more comfortable in midfield than on his first outing in T&T colours, creating opportunities, but in the latter part of the first half the hosts seemed to run out of ideas and were content to knock the ball around.

Coach Carlos Alberto must have decided at the interval that the best mode of defence would be attack, as Azerbaijan opened the second half with more positive play, pushing T&T back into their own half in the hunt for the equaliser.

A few timely saves from the home defence, as well as a lack of sting in their attack, though, made progress tough for the visitors.

That opened them up at the back, but a barrage of misses by T&T suggested another 1-0 scoreline. A double substitution brought on Smith and Dallas FC striker Cornell Glen, sparking some life into the team, and the combination sealed the win, Glen on a break from the right passing to Smith in the area. Smith shot straight at Mehdiyev, but a poor attempt at a parry only succeeded in another goal.

T&T looked threatening in the dying stages of the game, but were once again unable to make hay on a sunny afternoon.

The national squad will now resume training for the upcoming US match-up on Tuesday at the Oval from 9 a.m., before their warm-up games against Haiti early next month.