TEN-MAN ARMENIA STUN BELARUS
Times of Malta
080205/sport/ten-man-armenia-stun-belarus
Feb 5 2008
Malta
Armenia chalked up their second win of the International Tournament
after beating Belarus 2-1.
Ara Hakobyan scored his second goal of the tournament to lead Armenia
to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Belarus yesterday.
The meeting between the two teams who won their opening match on
Saturday, was a nervy affair but Armenia, who finished the game with
10 men, had the last laugh thanks to substitute Hakobyan whose late
strike sent his team top of the table with six points from two matches.
Belarus had opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute,
Viachaslav Hleb, the brother of Arsenal stalwart Aleksandr Hleb,
driving the ball home after profiting from a mistake by Armenia
goalkeeper Mayis Azizyan.
Another dangerous attack by Belarus almost yielded a second goal on
16 minutes as Vitaly Bulyga advanced down the right before sending
in a low far-post cross where Raman Vasiliuk’s sliding effort came
off the woodwork.
Belarus paid dearly for this miss as Armenia drew level on 18 minutes
thanks to a header by Ararat Arakelyan.
The game remained balanced after the change of ends but 13 minutes
into the second half, Armenia should have moved ahead.
Hakobyan, who hit Armenia’s winner against Malta, drifted into the
box before setting up Samuel Melkonyan whose first-time volley from
routine distance sailed well over the bar.
Only a tipping save from Belarus goalkeeper Aliaksandr Liantsevich from
a fierce strike by substitute Karen Aleksanyan denied the improving
Armenians a second goal with 14 minutes remaining. However, from the
ensuing corner, taken by Aghvan Lazarian, Hakobyan slipped past an
opponent before rolling the ball home.
Four minutes from time, Armenia were reduced to ten men after defender
Alexander Tadeosyan was sent off by referee Anton Zammit for a second
booking but Jan Poulsen’s men held on to move closer to winning
the tournament.