Armenia 1 Republic of Ireland 0
Utter disaster in Yerevan. Eduard Spertsyan’s cleanly-struck winner on 74 minutes zipped past Caoimhín Kelleher to avenge a nightmare Dublin defeat for Armenia back in 2010 and rubbish claims by Ireland manager Stephen Kenny that the Nations League ‘B’ title could be captured.
The result tallies a terrible run of 11 winless outings for Ireland in this competition.
To put in context just how miserable a defeat this is for Kenny’s attempt to rejuvenate Irish football, Norway put nine past Jaoquín Caparros outfit last March.
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Maybe Ireland encountered a wounded animal in stifling conditions but the final score tells no lies. Disjointed, jaded and abysmal in equal measure, long hard season or not, a country ranked 92nd by Fifa is not supposed to sucker punch an Irish side that Kenny continually claims is on the rise.
When the players supped and towelled at the first water break in the 24th minute, they presumably wondered how they had failed to score. Callum Robinson, in particular, was perplexed by the lack of protection from Romanian referee Radu Petrescu as his attacking partnership with Chiedozie Ogbene looked more dangerous than ever.
However, come the ‘third quarter’ pause a draw seemed like a fair result despite Ireland being 47 places higher up the world rankings.
Initially unable to contain Ireland’s roaming strikers, Arman Hovhannisyan and Varazdat Haroyan took to kicking lumps out of them in a back-handed compliment after Ogbene gave Robinson two clear sights of goal. The first chance found David Yurchenko’s side-netting before a soft, downward effort by Robinson was batted off the goal line by Hovhannes Hambartsumyan.
A stream of corners from Josh Cullen lacked the velocity and accuracy Shane Duffy or John Egan required to find the target. And there would be no Duffy heroics in the final seconds. That ace in the hole has been used too many times.
The contest quickly settled into a challenge for Jeff Hendrick to unpick the Armenians’ clogged defence as Troy Parrott struggled to define his role in the attacking triumvirate. Parrott made way for Michael Obafemi’s second cap, four years after his first, on 65 minutes.
Not that Kelleher lay idle in the Irish goal. Starting due to the back-strained Gavin Bazunu – who didn’t feature in the warm-up – the agile Liverpool man pushed Tigran Barseghyan’s shot for a corner after four minutes when Nathan Collins was caught in possession by Vahan Bichakhchyan.
From the ensuing pinball, an alert Duffy blocked Spertsyan’s attempt before receiving a deserved yellow card for studs-in a tackle on Barseghyan.
Despite the shaky opening and missed opportunities, Ogbene also headed over before half-time, Ireland controlled the game’s flow with an opening goal seemingly one weighted pass by Hendrick away.
The Armenians were determined to frustrate with defensive blocks of five and four prompting Parrott to slip between the lines and become Ireland’s creator in chief with his back to goal. The 20-year-old struggled while in stark contrast Bichakhchyan’s pace down the other end exposed Egan on the counterattack.
The relatively smooth arrival of Collins on to the international scene has at least strengthened Ireland’s hand. The 21-year-old certainly won’t get exposed for pace.
But there are no positives here. With wing backs Séamus Coleman and Enda Stevens denied room to manoeuvre and coupled with poor set-piece delivery by Cullen, the likeliest route to victory was a patiently constructed goal through the guts of Armenian traffic.
Such rules of engagement should not have surprised the Ireland management but it increasingly looked like an energetic cameo from Jason Knight, James McClean or even Obafemi would be needed to secure a first Nations League win.
All three were warmed and ready to enter the fray from half-time but it took well over an hour for Kenny to ring the changes.
Coleman did storm forward early in the second but the skipper’s inability to get on to Hendrick’s return pass left Collins and Duffy in all sorts of bother.
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. This time it was Stevens who coughed up possession high up the pitch.
The momentum completely shifted as Yerevan became cloaked in humid mist. Khoren Bayramyan kept receiving ball in acres of space but the playmaker’s lack of quality appeared to save Ireland from an humiliating defeat.
Not so. A classy turn by Spertsyan left Obafemi for dead and he wandered closer and closer to the Irish box before carving his name into the 87-year history of this red stone stadium.
Both of next week’s opponents, Ukraine and Scotland, would have been out the gate long before Kenny turned to an ineffective cavalry.
Grim evening in the Caucasus.
ARMENIA: Yurchenko (Pyunik Yerevan); Hambartsumyan (Anorthosis), Haroyan (Cádiz, capt), Mkoya (Ararat Yerevan), A Hovhannisyan (Pyunik Yerevan); K Hovhannisyan (Astana), Grigoryan (Alashkert FC), Spertsyan (Krasnodar), Barseghyan (Slovan Bratislava); Bayramyan (Rostov); Bichakhchyan (Pogon).
Subs: Adamyan (Club Brugge) for Bichakhchyan (56 mins), Mkrtchyan (BKMA Yerevan) for A Hovhannisyan (60), Dashyan (Pyunik Yerevan) for Barseghyan (89),
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Kelleher (Liverpool); Collins (Burnley), Duffy (Brighton and Hove Albion), Egan (Sheffield United); Coleman (Everton, capt), Hendrick (Newcastle United), Cullen (Anderlecht), Stevens (Sheffield United); Ogbene (Rotherham United), Robinson (West Bromwich Albion), Parrott (Tottenham Hotspur).
Subs: Obafemi (Swansea City) for Parrott (65 mins), McClean (Wigan Athletic) for Stevens, Knight (Derby County) for Robinson (Both 73), Keane for Coleman, Browne for Cullen (81).
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania).
