World Cup Group F qualifier: Republic of Ireland 1 [Ferguson 70] Armenia 0
This World Cup qualifier went exactly how the Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson had predicted: “I would take playing a shitty game and win 1-0”.
Not a word out of place.
The fading dream of featuring at North America 2026 was revived by an Evan Ferguson goal.
It was the Roma striker’s most important moment in a green shirt, to date. There was 20 minutes remaining at the Aviva Stadium when Finn Azaz rolled a short corner to Will Smallbone and before the defence could organise, the Southampton midfielder whipped a ball on to Ferguson’s head as six Armenian defenders looked around in disbelief.
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The game was going Ireland’s way since the 52nd minute when Armenia captain Tigran Barseghyan was sent off for headbutting Azaz. The moment was a carbon copy of the 2-2 draw with Hungary last month, when Roland Sallai was dismissed in the 52nd minute for raking Dara O’Shea’s Achilles.
Ireland needed three points to keep their World Cup campaign alive until the November games against Portugal in Dublin and Hungary in Budapest.
Portugal failed to wrap up Group F after a late equaliser from Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai secured a 2-2 draw in Lisbon.
That result leaves Ireland third, a point behind the Hungarians.
The best chance of a first half so lacking in intensity that it felt like a June friendly, fell to Eduard Spertsyan. Two of the Russian-born midfielder’s 10 international goals have come against Ireland, so he was disappointed not to complete the hat-trick with a 38th-minute volley.
Armenia deserved to score. They initially looked like the better team against an Irish side that failed to find any rhythm in the second game of a massive World Cup qualification window.
The red card changed everything but psychologically something is clearly amiss. The Irish players that showed plenty of bravery in a 1-0 loss in Portugal on Saturday were scrambling to contain a routine ball for Kamo Hovhannisyan, who steadied himself before clearing Nathan Collins only for Spertsyan’s first-time effort to miss the target.
Besides Ryan Manning’s shot zipping wide of Henri Avagyan’s far post, after Festy Ebosele did well down the right, Ireland failed to create another goalscoring chance before the break.
There was a not a murmur among the 42,292 attendance as the clock ticked 45 minutes. All that could be heard was Hallgrímsson bellowing: “Do it quicker, do it quicker.”
But the Irish players seemed too drained of energy and confidence to react to their manager.
Hallgrímsson set Ireland up with a back five and two holding midfielders, just as he did in Lisbon. The difference between Portugal and Armenia was five goals in Yerevan last month. Another way of looking at the two nations is the Fifa world rankings where they are separated by 99 places.
Hallgrímsson’s ultra-defensive set-up invited the Armenians to attack. One explanation, according to The Irish Times columnist Kevin Kilbane, is that the players are trapped in a cycle of fear. Too afraid to attack in case they are caught on the counter, as Spertsyan almost proved.
The return of Séamus Coleman from exile, when the former captain stated over the weekend that he was fit for selection in September, was open to further ridicule by the 37-year-old’s initial contributions.
Coleman’s double tackle in the first minute snuffed out an Armenia attack and seconds later he needed attention for a bloodied nose after flinging himself into a second ball contest with Sergei Muradian.
Oddly, despite a high foot that made contact with Coleman’s head, Muradian avoided a yellow card from the French referee Benoit Bastien.
Coleman began the second half as he did the first, barging into Avagyan after the latest hit and hope cross into the Armenia box came to nothing. After being booked, he scrambled into positioning all the while gesticulating for the crowd to get involved.
He could have done with waving wildly at his team-mates as the lack of passion on display was startling.
Then, in the 52nd minute, Barseghyan literally lost his head and sent Azaz to ground.
Suddenly, the crowd were cajoling the players into action with headers from Collins and O’Shea in quick successions forcing superb saves from Avagyan.
Despite the big defenders coming up for corners and free-kicks, Hallgrímsson stuck with his system when the game was screaming out for an extra Irish player in midfield or alongside the isolated Ferguson.
The changes came on 64 minutes with Coleman and Ebosele making way for Chiedozie Ogbene and Troy Parrott, who was asked to play in deep role to the right and behind Ferguson.
By now, Ireland were in complete control of possession as 10-man Armenia retreated into their own box.
Just before Ferguson nodded his third goal of the campaign, he messed up a one on one chance with Avagyan, rolling the ball into the goalkeeper’s gloves.
Seconds later, he was alert enough to finish Smallbone’s clever cross to keep Ireland on course to reach the World Cup next summer.
Adam Idah replaced Ferguson and really should have made it 2-0 when he hit an Azaz cross off the post. Idah also had a superb finish in the 90th minute ruled out for offside.
Manning and Jayson Molumby will be unavailable for the visit of Portugal to Dublin on November 13th having picked up second yellow cards.
IRELAND: Kelleher; Coleman (Ogbene 64), O’Brien, Collins, O’Shea, Manning; Ebosele (Parrott 64), Smallbone (Taylor 81), Molumby, Azaz; Ferguson (Idah 81).
ARMENIA: Avagyan; Hovhannisyan, Piloyan (Bichakhchyan 81), Muradian, Mkrtchyan; Spertsyan, Iwu, Tiknizyan (Grigoryan 72); Barseghyan, Ranos (Miranyan 72), Shaghoyan (Zelarayan 46).
Referee: Benoit Bastien (France)
