SPORTSWORLD.AM
In the second leg of the first qualifying round of the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League, Yerevan's Pyunik will host San Marino's Trefiori at home.
Armenia's most titled club started the season with a loss in the first match, but head coach Yeghishe Melikyan and player Daniel Aghbalyan assured that the team is ready for this match.
At the start of the first half, Tre Fiori starts the game with a violation of the rules. Pyunik calmly moves out of its half of the field and rushes to attack, but in vain. During the first six minutes of the match, the Yerevan club had more possession of the ball with a ratio of 85/14%, the attacks are again active with a ratio of 14/2, of which eleven were dangerous. As of the eleventh minute, the opponent's goalkeeper has already made two saves, which means that the "Pomegranates" are more active. In the thirteenth minute, the activity paid off, with the Nigerian striker Yusuf Olaytan Otubanjo opening the score with a penalty kick.
In the 19th minute, the "Pomegranate" team increased their number of attacks to 36, compared to the opponent's 4. The corner kick seemed to be unsuccessful for Yeghishe Melikyan's men.
The Yerevan team was able to move freely on the field and in the 24th minute, Alemao doubled his team's advantage in the confrontation, making the score 2:1.
Tre Fiori seemed to panic and tried to show an artificial foul to the Albanian referee.
After taking the lead in the defense, the 16-time champion of Armenia calmed down the game. In the 34th minute, the dangerous attacks were already 32. The players of "Tre Fiori" and the members of the coaching staff did not know what to do on the field and at that time Florian Costana meant a second penalty kick which was unerringly executed by the team's newcomer Marius Nubiss, making the score 3:0, in the confrontation - 3:1.
The San Marino representatives constantly encountered serious resistance from Gevorg Tarakhchyan and his teammates in the central part of the field, the “Pomegranates” also resorted to the help of goalkeeper Henry Avagyan. After the first half, our boys went into the break with a two-goal advantage in three total confrontations in this game.
At the start of the second half (46), the Armenian specialist made a double substitution: Seda Islamovic and Marius Nubis were replaced by Solomon Udo and Sargis Metoyan, respectively, bringing freshness to the midfield and attacking positions. In the 51st minute, there was a chaotic situation in the opponent's penalty area, as a result of which the eight-time champion of Armenia received the right to a corner kick, but was unable to score the opponent's goal, after which the referee awarded a penalty kick, this time to Henry Avagyan's goal, which he was able to repel. "Pyunik" once again proved with its game that there are also coincidences in football. In this game, our boys came out on the field with the principle of (One for all, all for one).
Yusuf Olaytan Otubanjo feels the game and the pitch better today compared to the previous match, as evidenced by his penalty kick, the same can be said about Marius Nubiss, but Yeghishe Melikyan replaced him to bring some freshness. Today, the changes were made earlier. In the 63rd minute, a double substitution was made in “Pyunik”: Daniel Aghbalyan and Xavi Moreno were replaced by Daniel Kulikov and Matas Vareika. Gevorg Tarakhchyan was also replaced, giving way to Alexander Milkovich, who returned to “Pyunik” and played for “Pomegranate” during the 2022/23 season and moved to “NOA”.
Ten minutes before the end of the game, Danilo Girolomoni's men were helped by a goal that hit the post.
It can be said that the Yerevan club is sometimes hampered by thoughtless moves on the pitch, but this was not their day. In this game, all the moves and actions were thought out and that led to their fourth goal, which was scored by Yusuf Olaytan Otubanjo, who had a goal to his name.
Yeghishe Melikyan was actively working in the technical zone and before the game, it was noticeable that the coaching staff's task was to (Capture the opponent's goal five times), which was accomplished.
Thus, the "Pomegranate" overcomes the obstacle of "Tre Fiori" and the next opponent is the Hungarian "Györgyi". The first match will be held at home.