Armenian hopes flounder on European stageTuesday 11 August 2009
by Khachik Chakhoyan from Yereva

It was a case of same old story in Armenia this season. For the second
year running, none of the country’s European representatives managed
to get past the first hurdle of continental competition, with just one
win and two draws to show from their eight games.

Banants fall short
FC Banants were on the receiving end of a 10-0 aggregate defeat by FC
Salzburg last year, but with new coach Armen Gyulbudaghyants at the
helm, the Yerevan-based side have shown steady improvement. However,
they still fell just short in the UEFA Europa League first qualifying
round this term, a 1-0 win at NK Å iroki Brijeg not making up for
their 2-0 loss in the first leg. "The tie was decided in the first
match," Gyulbudaghyants told uefa.com. "We didn’t have enough
information about our opponents and injuries didn’t allow us to play
our best squad."

Strong opponents
Last season, a young FC Pyunik side were eliminated by Anorthosis
Famagusta FC in UEFA Champions League qualifying, the Cypriot side
subsequently going all the way to the group stage. The Armenian
champions again faced strong opponents in the form of NK Dinamo
Zagreb, claiming a commendable goalless draw in their second
qualifying round opener. However, the Croatian side were too strong in
the return, running out 3-0 winners with Pyunik badly missing talisman
Henrik Mkhitaryan, transferred to Ukraine’s FC Metallurh Donetsk this
summer. "We played much better than last year, we were more
confident," coach Vardan Minasyan said. "With Mkhitaryan, we could
possibly have expected a different result."

Good experience
With a new-look squad featuring several Armenian internationals and
foreign talent, FC MIKA had high hopes going into their UEFA Europa
League first qualifying round tie against Helsingborgs IF. They looked
on course for a great result in the opener in Sweden, but conceded two
late goals to lose 3-1 and could not turn it around at home. "We
played well but our opponents were too strong," conceded MIKA coach
Samvel Darbinyan. "They forced us to raise our game and this
experience will help us in the national league." Darbinyan will
certainly hope so, as his side sit joint-top of the Bardzraguyn
khumb alongside perennial champions Pyunik.

Rude awakening
FC Gandzasar Kapan were making their debut in Europe this season but
it was a rude awakening as they were beaten 6-0 by NAC Breda in the
first leg of their second qualifying round tie, succumbing 8-0
overall. "For the first time in our life, we played in a stadium with
13,500 fans," said coach Slava Gabrielyan. "The level of our leagues
is very different; we lost in every aspect of the game." Despite the
disappointment, there was a level of improvement from Armenia’s
representatives this year after eight defeats from as many games last
season, although Minasyan admitted there was still a long way to
go. "I think only Mika had a real chance of qualifying for the next
round. Pyunik and Banants have inexperienced squads and Gandzasar were
just not ready for Europe."