In Matchday 7 of the Armenian Premier League, Pyunik hosted Shirak Gyumri at the Yerevan Football Academy Stadium.

In the previous match, after securing a victory over Sardarapat in Gyumri, our team had climbed to 2nd place in the standings and was looking to add to its points tally.

However, it is worth noting that since Vardan Bichakhchyan took charge of the team again, the Gyumri side has formed a competitive squad and plays with great determination this season.

Pyunik missed Henri Avagyan, Hovhannes Harutyunyan, and Vyacheslav Afyan due to injuries, while Shirak was without one of its key players, Donald Kodia, who was suspended after receiving a red card in the previous round against Sardarapat.

Gyumri was more active in the first half, seriously threatening our goal on a few occasions.

In the 10th minute, Shirak's Amara Karamoko came close to opening the scoring with a close-range header, but Stanislav Buchnev reacted in time to stretch out a hand and push the ball away for a corner.

Pyunik created its first real chance in the 35th minute, when James Santos joined the attack from the left flank and shot just wide of the vertical post.

After the break, our players looked relatively better than in the first half, and Pyunik managed to achieve the desired result.

In the 68th minute, Shirak defender Hamlet Mnatsakanyan committed a foul on Iasonas Pikis inside his own penalty area, and referee Hovhannes Kalantaryan unhesitatingly pointed to the spot. Daniil Kulikov stepped up and opened the scoring with a clinical penalty — 1:0. Overall, the Russian midfielder has been standing out with impactful performances in recent matches.

In the 81st minute, Pyunik managed to double their lead. The goal-scoring attack initiated from our own penalty box, after which Sead Islamović launched Iasonas Pikis forward with a brilliant pass; the Cypriot forward skillfully broke free from the defenders to make it 2:0, scoring his 4th goal of the current league campaign.

Pyunik secured its third consecutive home victory and remains in 2nd place with 17 points, 4 points behind the leaders, Noah.

In the next round on September 19, our team will visit Alashkert at the Abovyan City Stadium, after which the teams will head into the international break.