BKMA and Banants met in the sixth round of the Premier League on Saturday, with Banants edging through a 2:1 victory at home. Narek Hovhannisyan scored twice for the visitors while Murad Rajani replied for BKMA in a match that swung more than once. The result leaves Banants a point clear in seventh place, BKMA still in eighth.
Hovhannisyan opened the scoring in the twenty-first minute, a shot that found its way past the keeper to give Banants the lead. BKMA's first yellow came at twenty-nine, and by thirty-five there were two cards in the book as the game grew tighter. The hosts pressed but could not find an equaliser before the break.
The second half brought more drama, and here's the thing — it was BKMA who took the lead. Rajani scored in the fifty-eighth minute, and Banants had to work to get back into the game. Another yellow at fifty-nine showed the edges were starting to show, and BKMA thought they might have enough.
Then Hovhannisyan struck again in the sixty-eighth minute to rescue the away side and end a nervous period for Banants. The goal shifted momentum entirely, and BKMA could not respond despite the pressure. By then, the match had been decided by three decisive moments rather than sustained dominance.
Banants now sit on eight points from six games, while BKMA remain on seven with the same number of matches played. The visitors' recent form had been inconsistent — draws and losses in their last five — but this win gives them breathing room. BKMA's run of three defeats in six games continues, and the gap between them and the top half is still narrow.
We had backed Banants to win with forty-nine per cent confidence, but the match went another way. What shifted things was BKMA's response after going behind, and their ability to take the lead through Rajani. Once they went ahead, Banants had to show composure, and Hovhannisyan delivered when it mattered.