YEREVAN — Armenia achieved a vital win in their UEFA Nations League B Division opener against Ireland, who despite dominating the ball for much of the game, were unable to break down their opponents.
Eduard Spertsyan’s cleanly-struck winner on 74 minutes zipped past Caoimhín Kelleher to avenge a nightmare Dublin defeat for Armenia back in 2010.
Initially unable to contain Ireland’s roaming strikers, Armenia found ways to slow down the Irish and frustrate them with defensive blocks of five and four.
This was no fluke result. The Republican stadium erupted in the 50th minute when Barseghyan finished to the top corner but VAR cancelled the goal as Hambartsumyan was offside.
Armenia was promoted to B Division of UEFA Nations League last year. They are in the same group with Ireland, Scotland and Ukraine.
Next they will travel to Glasgow to face Scotland on Wednesday June 8th.
