League B - Group 1-4 Fixtures - 9-11th June, 2022

[Dr. Gonzo]

3 minutes ago, Michael said:

They are usually good at defending and counter attacking, a strategy that works for them very well when they play at home. Their home ground, the heat and their loud supporters help them a lot as well against other European sides. Away from home, they evidently don't play as well. They have some very good attacking players, Adamyan being the one I am most familiar with. So Armenia are a relatively tough side to play when they are at home. But yeah, I mean I'd expect top quality sides to beat them both home and away, even though Armenia tend to be much stronger when they play in Yerevan, as opposed to when they play outside of Armenia.

I don't watch them a lot but I hear a lot about them and their players from my brother in law (who's lived in Yerevan, mostly, for the last 2 years). According to him, their national team is weird - they tend to play better when there's more feelings of national unity and tend to fall apart when things seem more divided in the country. And what he says is sort of reflected when you compare the results of Armenia during their "velvet revolution" and during that recent war with Azerbaijan... to the mood of the nation once the dust has settled from that war and the general discontent people have about the future of the country. I also don't think it helps that Mhkhitaryan has retired from the national team.

And yeah, the home crowd at Yerevan can be intimidating for the opposition. But the crowd has also gone pretty hostile towards Armenian players themselves, especially with the recent poor performances. So I think it can go both ways in terms of who the crowd ends up intimidating. And that's probably why how the country general feels about national unity seems to make such a big difference for Armenia - when the country feels mostly united, the players are probably getting less shit from their fans. When the country is feeling divided, they experience a lot of hostility from their own support.

I think it's a big difference compared to some of the bigger footballing nations that directly neighbor them in the world where the national team is one of the few things that seems to consistently promote national unity in very divided nations and the fans can rally around the team regardless of whether it is good or bad.

[Michael]

6 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I don't watch them a lot but I hear a lot about them and their players from my brother in law (who's lived in Yerevan, mostly, for the last 2 years). According to him, their national team is weird - they tend to play better when there's more feelings of national unity and tend to fall apart when things seem more divided in the country. And what he says is sort of reflected when you compare the results of Armenia during their "velvet revolution" and during that recent war with Azerbaijan... to the mood of the nation once the dust has settled from that war and the general discontent people have about the future of the country. I also don't think it helps that Mhkhitaryan has retired from the national team.

And yeah, the home crowd at Yerevan can be intimidating for the opposition. But the crowd has also gone pretty hostile towards Armenian players themselves, especially with the recent poor performances. So I think it can go both ways in terms of who the crowd ends up intimidating. And that's probably why how the country general feels about national unity seems to make such a big difference for Armenia - when the country feels mostly united, the players are probably getting less shit from their fans. When the country is feeling divided, they experience a lot of hostility from their own support.

I think it's a big difference compared to some of the bigger footballing nations that directly neighbor them in the world where the national team is one of the few things that seems to consistently promote national unity in very divided nations and the fans can rally around the team regardless of whether it is good or bad.

Interesting, the country has obviously had it's recent troubles with the war that happened about a year ago now. However, they still seem to produce some very talented attacking players. Adamyan as I mentioned is probably the star man, but Spertsyan and Bichkhchyan look like two other very talented young up and coming players. But it's always difficult for smaller nations to consistently produce enough top players to compete with the bigger footballing nations.

[Michael]

Well Ukraine v Ireland kicks off in a few minutes. 

Ukraine's lineup is as follows:

                                 Riznyk

Karavayev - Zabarnyi - Matviyenko - Mykolenko

        Malinovskyi - Sydorchuk - Zinchenko

         Yarmolenko - Dovbyk - Shaparenko

Well manager Petrakov continues his policy of rotating his keepers with Riznyk starting today for only his 2nd cap for Ukraine. Pyatov played Ukraine's last game against Armenia, Lunin played the away match against Ireland and Buschan played in the previous play-off games.

At the back for Ukraine it's the usual starting back 4 of Karavayev, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko and Mykolenko. Zinchenko moves back into midfield for Ukraine in this game, as opposed to the left-back role he played against Armenia a few days ago. Zinchenko will play alongside his usual partner in crime Malinovskyi and Sydorchuk, who replaces the injured ball winner Stepanenko. Up front Yarmolenko retains his usual position on the right wing, while Shaparenko on the left wing. Both Mudryk and Tsyhankov who impressed in recent matches are surprisingly dropped to the bench. Up front Dovbyk starts as the target man in place of the injured Yaremchuk.

[Michael]

Malinovskyi turned the Irish defender inside out and then managed to line the ball up for a left footed piledriver that forced Kelleher into a great save! The best chance of the match so far.

[Michael]

A mistake in the Ukrainian defence allows the Irish to get a cross in and Parrott finds himself in some space at the back post, but his header goes wide of the far post.

[Michael]

Mykolenko burst down the left flank, chested down the long pass superbly and then got a powerful shot at goal which Kelleher did well to save once again.

[Michael]

Malinovskyi has sadly picked up an injury after a rough challenge on him. So the young winger Mudryk will come on for Malinovskyi with less than 30 minutes played here in Poland.

[Michael]

Nathan Collins gives Ireland a shock lead! He intercepted a pass deep in midfield, went on a run, skipped past two challenges and finished like a seasoned striker! That was an excellent solo goal from Collins, who has been really impressive for Ireland.

[Michael]

Dovbyk equalises for Ukraine!! Yarmolenko made a strong run with the ball down the right flank and crossed through a group of defenders and Dovbyk was there at the far post to slot home the goal.

Ukraine 1-1 Ireland

[Michael]

Mudryk's looping cross/shot is tipped over the crossbar by the Irish keeper Kelleher.

[Michael]

Knight has a long range effort at goal but Riznyk makes a comfortable save.

[Michael]

Mudryk slips a through ball to Mykolenko down the left-flank but Mykolenko's resulting cross across the face of the Irish goal couldn't be met by Dovbyk on time.

[Michael]

Shaparenko goes on a darting run and is fouled just outside the penalty area. This is a free-kick in a dangerous position for Ukraine.

[Michael]

Shaparenko takes the free-kick and blasts it at the wall, which the Irish then clear away to safety.

[Michael]

Substitute Sikan comes on for Dovbyk upfront for Ukraine and Popov replaces Matviyenko in defence.

[Michael]

Well it finishes 1-1 and although Ukraine dictated most of the play(62% possession) and created several dangerous chances, this was possibly their least impressive performance over the last 2 weeks. Malinovskyi being forced off injured in the 1st half didn't help their cause. Defensive midfielder Sydorchuk didn't have a good game at all and Ukraine missed the injured Stepanenko who usually plays in defensive midfield for them. Yaremchuk's absence through injury was also felt, although Dovbyk scored Ukraine's equalising goal, his all round game is not as good as Yaremchuk's. I think Tsyhankov's running and creativity was also missed, as the manager kept him on the bench for the whole 90 minutes. But in general, Ukraine didn't perform as well as they have done in the last few matches.

However, they've had an extremely tough schedule. They played the 2 World Cup play-off matches and 3 subsequent Nations League games all in the space of 14 days, so that's 5 competitive matches in 2 weeks. This has no doubt taken a lot out of them. 

Ireland came in to this match confident, fresh from their 3-0 win against Scotland. They battled just as hard against Ukraine, as they did against the Scots. constantly trying to close down the Ukrainian players. Ireland played a defensive formation with 5 defenders, 3 midfielders and 2 up front. They defended in numbers, making it hard for the Ukrainians to penetrate with dangerous attacks too many times. Their goal from Collins though was one of the best Irish goals in recent years. Collins further proving his capabilities as a very talented defender.

Either way, a draw in Poland against an improved Irish side isn't the worst result, although Ukraine would have definitely wanted the 3 points here today before kick off. Zinchenko didn't play as well as he performed in previous matches and Mudryk showed flashes of brilliant dribbling and passing ability, but sometimes he can do better with his decision making. Ukraine will want to improve on this performance when their next Nations League matches come round in September.