UEFA UNDER-21 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING - GROUP TWO/Rep Ireland 1 Armenia 2:THE REPUBLIC of Ireland's nightmare championships continued with a poor defeat by 10-man Armenia in Tallaght last night.
Don Givens’ side has failed to win a game in seven attempts and sit bottom of their group.
When these sides last met in November in Yerevan, Armenia hammered a depleted Ireland team 4-1, but this time Séamus Coleman, David Meyler, Conor Clifford, Owen Garvan, Alan Judge and Seán Scannell all started.
Former Russian Under-17 international Gevorg Goharyan was a real handful early on. He fired narrowly across goal in the 10th minute after capitalising on a poor header by Darren Dennehy.
The Bate Borisov striker would have opened the scoring six minutes later but for a brilliant tackle by Callum Morris. Davit Manoyan sent Goharyan through after intercepting a poor Cian Hughton pass.
Visiting goalkeeper Edvard Hovhannisyan was not unduly tested early on.
Garvan was unfortunate not to punish a mistake by the goalkeeper in the 33rd minute when Hovhannisyan punched away a Conor Clifford free-kick. Garvan’s strike flew inches wide.
Armenia took the lead less than a minute later. Levon Hayrapetyan was afforded too much room, but goalkeeper Shane Redmond should have coped better with the strike that trickled into the net.
Ireland were further stunned when Gevorg Ghazaryan extended the lead in the 40th minute with a blistering free-kick from 25 yards.
Sheridan got his head to a Scannell cross two minutes later but once again it was comfortably dealt with by the goalkeeper.
Armenia were reduced to 10 men with 12 minutes remaining when Masis Voskanyan was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Substitute Ian Daly and Terry Dixon combined to pull a goal back in the 79th minute. Dixon laid it off for Daly to drill home after the goalkeeper parried a Hughton strike.
REP OF IRELAND: Redmond; Coleman, Morris, Dennehy, Hughton, Meyler (Daly 46 mins), Clifford, Garvan, Judge, Sheridan, Scannell (Dixon 62). Subs not used: McKeown, Long, Oyebanjo, Connelly, Davies.
ARMENIA: Hovhannisyan; Yedigaryan, Arakelyan, Yuspashyan, Hayrapetyan, Manoyan (Manasyan 92 mins), Voskanyan, Mkrtchyan, Malakyan (Yagan 70 mins), Goharyan, Ghazaryan. Subs not used: Prazyan, Daghbashyan, Badalyan, Yagan, Manasyan, Tadevosyan, Hambardzumyan.
Referee: N Dunauskas (Lithuania).
