Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying hopes hit further by loss in Armenia
By Damian Spellman, PA
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s World Cup dream was torn to shreds in Yerevan as the Republic of Ireland were humbled by Armenia.
A little more than three years after they suffered an embarrassing 1-0 Nations League defeat at the Republican Stadium, Ireland went down 2-1 to a side ranked 105th in the world in a game they simply had to win if they were to stand a realistic chance of qualifying from Group F following Saturday’s 2-2 fightback draw with Hungary in Dublin.
Head coach Hallgrimsson had hoped to emerge from the opening two rounds of fixtures with six points, but ultimately collected just one and the damage inflicted by a side which shipped five goals without reply to group favourites Portugal on the same pitch four days ago could prove irreparable.
For the ninth time in 10 competitive games under the Icelander, Ireland conceded first when Eduard Spertsyan, who fired Armenia to victory over the Irish in Yerevan in June 2022 and also scored in the reverse fixture, struck from the spot.
Grant-Leon Ranos doubled the hosts’ advantage within six minutes of the restart, and although Evan Ferguson dragged the visitors back into it with 57 minutes gone, he and his team-mates could not drag themselves out of the mire for the second time in four days.
Finn Azaz forced an early save from Ognjen Chancharevich, and defender Erik Piloyan came to the goalkeeper’s rescue with four minutes gone, clearing Ferguson’s deftly chipped effort off the line after Chancharevich had raced from his line and spilled the ball at the striker’s feet.
But as Hallgrimsson’s men struggled to gain a foothold in midfield on a difficult pitch, Armenia worked their way into the game and Caoimhin Kelleher had to deal with Lucas Zelarayan’s swerving 18th-minute shot from distance.
Chancharevich denied Jack Taylor with a knee after he had burst into the box and fired towards goal with Ferguson making a nuisance of himself in the build-up, and Nathan Collins headed over after Jake O’Brien had picked him out with a deep cross as Ireland pressed once again.
However, they enjoyed a major escape 10 minutes before the break when, after skipper Tigran Barseghyan had tricked his way past Dara O’Shea and pulled the ball back for striker Ranos, he saw his initial attempt blocked by Collins and then O’Brien and his follow-up come back off the crossbar with Kelleher beaten.
The Brentford keeper was helpless again on the strike of half-time when, after Collins had been adjudged to have felled Zelarayan as the pair challenged for Ranos’ cross in the box, Georgian referee Goga Kikacheishvili pointed to the spot and, after a VAR check, Spertsyan sent the resulting penalty low to his right to open the scoring.
Ireland’s woes deepened within six minutes of the restart when full-back Nayair Tiknizyan was played in behind O’Brien, and he crossed for Ranos to rifle the ball into the roof of the net.
Ferguson snatched a lifeline six minutes later when he curled a right-foot shot beyond Chancharevich’s dive after being played through by half-time substitute Adam Idah, and the visitors immediately looked more cohesive.
However, their efforts to restore parity left them vulnerable on the counter and Kelleher had to save from Barseghyan, substitute Vahan Bichakhchyan and Tiknizyan.
Chancharevich needed two attempts to claim Ryan Manning’s 75th-minute strike but Spertsyan stretched Kelleher even further before substitute Artur Serobyan beat him with aplomb at the end, only to see his contribution ruled out after a lengthy VAR review.
