SPORTSWORLD.AM
In the second leg of the qualification round of the most prestigious UEFA tournament, Armenian champions Ararat-Armenia faced Irish side Shamrock Rovers. The first leg ended in a 2-0 victory for the Yerevan club, with Sandro Lima and Zidane Banjaki scoring for the Black and Whites in the home game.
In the Yerevan game, Ararat-Armenia played a good match, especially in the second half, forcing the opponent to clear the ball from their own goal twice and leaving the referee with a certain advantage. The Yerevan team opened the scoring by taking advantage of a mistake by the defender of the multiple champion of Ireland, and the second time, as a result of a counterattack, Zidane Banjaki doubled his team's advantage.
Shamrock Rovers have won five of their last six home games, meaning the Irish side are feeling more comfortable at home, but it seemed Ararat-Armenia were not bothered by this. Manuel Tulipa's team were not only not confined to their own penalty area, but were also attacking, and Zidane Banjaki, who appeared on the right wing, found Sandro Lima on the opposite wing, who failed to finish. Matthew Healy opened the scoring in the twelfth minute (1:0).
Shamrock Rovers spent most of their attacks on the left flank of Ararat-Armenia's defense, trying to overwhelm that area. In the 36th minute of the match, Ararat-Armenia presented the Irish with a wonderful gift, and Aaron Green scored the unguarded goal (2:0). With one mistake, Artur Serobyan and his teammates missed out on what they had achieved with their hard work.
In the second half, Ararat-Armenia head coach Manuel Tulipa changed the positions of the players, orienting himself at the right time and bringing Carlos France onto the field instead of Artur Serobyan and France. In the 74th minute of the match, Sandro Lima scored the goal, who reduced the score difference and put his team ahead in the overall confrontation (2:1, 2:3).
In the first half, with the score tied at 0:0, Sandro Lima had a real scoring opportunity, which he did not use, as a result of which Shamrock Rovers neutralized the two-goal advantage, but in the second half, Portuguese specialist Manuel Tulipa had his decisive word with the changes he made and Ararat-Armenia scored once, securing a place in the third round of the Champions League qualifying round, becoming the second Armenian club to play in the third round of the most prestigious UEFA tournament. Before that, only the 16-time champion of Armenia, Pyunik Yerevan, had managed to reach this stage, where the Pomegranates were eliminated from the competition by Serbian Red Star.