"Three games in the space of three days took more out of us than we thought. It was very tough out there," remarked Irish captain Linda Caulfield after the match.

"Five matches in and we are still unbeaten though so that is the important thing, we're looking forward to the crossovers now", she continued.

The first half was an evenly-contested affair with both sides showing signs of fatigue. On 17 minutes Loreto's Nikki Symmons stole through the Azerbaijani defence on the right but her shot was parried by the goalkeeper. Ireland's best chance of the half came on 24 minutes when Suzanne Beaney found Nikki Symmons deep in the circle with an inch-perfect pass.

Symmons' shot flew across the face of the goal and the incoming Cathy McKean just failed to connect by a fraction.

Ballymoney's Angie Platt was called on with seven minutes of the first half remaining, saving with her feet. Substitute Alex Speers won a penalty corner with her first touch of the game four minutes from halftime. Jill Orbinson's powerful shot from the set piece went high and over the crossbar however.

The second half began with some weighty pressure from Azerbaijan but Fiona Ferguson, who flies home tomorrow to get married, came into the back line and was effective in frustrating the Azerbaijani attack, alongside Ciara O'Brien, Fiona Connery and Jill Orbinson.

With 16 minutes to go, Ireland was awarded a penalty corner but Linda Caulfield's shot was charged down.

Ten minutes later Ireland had another penalty corner but Jill Orbinson's ball was just a touch too far for Catriona Carey flying in towards the right post, in an attempt to slot it home. Ireland held out for a draw and will be glad of tomorrow's rest day to recover before the challenge of the crossovers on Thursday.