October 13, 23:00, Vilnius, LFF stadium
Conference League, group H, Matchday 4
Zalgiris vs Pyunik 2-1
Goals: Fabien Ourega, 23 (1-0), Renan Oliveira, 42 (2-0), Aras Ozbiliz, 78, pen. (2-1)
In the 4th round of the Conference League Group H, Pyunik visited Lithuanian champion Žalgiris in Vilnius.
In the previous round our team registered a confident victory (2-0) over the Green & Whites at home and with 6 points caught up with the leader of the group Basel.
Let us note that in another match of our group Slovan faced Basel, and the match ended in a draw (3:3). This meant that in case of a win over Žalgiris, our team would have a good chances into the knockout stage round.
The match was actively launched by our players but in the first half the hosts managed to score twice against Pyunik which was not a part of our team's plans. In the 23rd minute after a corner kick, our defenders lost sight of Fabien Ourega in the penalty area who opened the score of the match. And before the break, Žalgiris doubled its advantage. In the 42nd minute, Renan Oliveira sent the ball into David Yurchenko’s goal with an accurate kick from almost 20 meters, making the score 2:0.
Žalgiris could have increased the difference in the score in the second half, and in one of the episodes the ball bounced off the horizontal goal post of our team. Pyunik responded with Artak Dashyan’s strong free kick, but Žalgiris’s goalkeeper Edvinas Gertmonas managed to push the ball back. Yeghishe Melikyan, making substitutions, tried to change the course of the game and sent Dame Diop and Aras Ozbiliz to the pitch. Those changes weren’t vain. In the 77th minute, Nemanja Lubisavljevic fouled Dame Diop in his own penalty area and Aras Ozbiliz scored an accurate penalty kick.
Having reduced the difference in the score, our team hoped to save the match and end it in a draw but all attempts of Pyunik during the rest of the match were in vain.
Our team suffered a second defeat in the group stage, but continues placing 2nd with 6 points.
Pyunik will play its next match of the group stage on October 27, visiting Slovan in Bratislava.
