Gandzasar 3:4 Ararat-Armenia: Match Result

Match report

Ararat-Armenia Survive Ghandzasar Shock to Claim First Away Win

Ararat-Armenia edged out Ghandzasar 4:3 in the opening round of the Premier League on Saturday, a result that shifts the table balance before the season has truly begun. The visitors had been struggling — they hadn't won since their second matchday victory against Shamrock Rovers — and here they found themselves behind three times. By then, you'd expect a collapse, but not today. Ghandzasar started with a jolt. An own goal from A. Ayvazov in the third minute gave them a lead they'd hold for twenty-seven minutes, and when A. Eloyan doubled the advantage at the half-hour mark, the home crowd must have thought they'd already won the game. To be fair, they were working the channels with purpose, and D. Titkov's strike in the thirty-seventh minute put them two up. There is no value left at that number when you're chasing a game. The visitors woke up after the break. Junior Julio pulled one back in the forty-ninth minute, and just seven minutes later A. Avanesyan converted a penalty to level matters. But Ghandzasar had the ball more, or at least they had the attacks — fifty-nine compared to ninety-two for Ararat-Armenia is a curious statistic when you consider who was winning. The high line was picked apart, and Ararat-Armenia found their rhythm just when it mattered most. An eighth goal in the eighty-third minute turned the tie, and a second at the eighty-eighth sealed it. The visitors had five yellow cards to Ghandzasar's two, which tells you something about the tension, though neither manager seemed willing to let it boil over. There were two bookings in stoppage time for both sides — nothing dramatic, just bodies thrown in the way when the pressure came. Ghandzasar remain tenth on three points from six games, and they have not won since that mid-May encounter with Alashkert. Ararat-Armenia move into second place on sixteen points, a gap that would have looked comfortable before this season started. They felt the pressure today, but they didn't buckle.

Prepared from match data

Key numbers

Possession, % 50 – 50

Shots on target 5 – 4

Shots off target 1 – 3

Attacks 59 – 92

⚽ 3' A. Ayvazov — Own goal ⚽ 30' A. Eloyan — Goal 🟨 32' Yellow card ⚽ 37' D. Titkov — Goal ⚽ 49' Junior Julio — Goal 🟨 55' Yellow card 🟨 56' Yellow card ⚽ 58' A. Avanesyan — Penalty 🟨 73' Yellow card ⚽ 83' Goal 🟨 86' Yellow card ⚽ 88' Goal 🟨 90+4' Yellow card 🟨 90+4' Yellow card

Match events

3' Ararat-Armenia Own goal A. Ayvazov
30' Ararat-Armenia Goal A. Eloyan
32' Ararat-Armenia Yellow card
37' Gandzasar Goal D. Titkov
49' Ararat-Armenia Goal Junior Julio
55' Ararat-Armenia Yellow card
56' Ararat-Armenia Yellow card
58' Gandzasar Penalty A. Avanesyan
73' Ararat-Armenia Yellow card
83' Ararat-Armenia Goal
86' Gandzasar Yellow card
88' Gandzasar Goal
90+4' Ararat-Armenia Yellow card
90+4' Gandzasar Yellow card

Statistics

50 Possession, % 50

5 Shots on target 4

1 Shots off target 3

59 Attacks 92

2 Corners 7

6 Free kicks 3

0 Offsides 1

2 Yellow cards 5

0 Red cards 0

5 Goal kicks 4

6 Throw-ins 8

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