Republic of Ireland vs Armenia. UEFA Nations League Group B1.
Aviva StadiumAttendance41,719.
Match report as Robbie Brady's 91st-minute penalty secured a dramatic 3-2 win for Republic of Ireland over Armenia at the Aviva Stadium which preserved their League B status in the UEFA Nations League; Stephen Kenny enjoys just his fourth competitive win in 21 games
Tuesday 27 September 2022 22:56, UK
Republic of Ireland ensured their survival in League B of the UEFA Nations League, but they made heavy work of beating Armenia in their final group game, with Robbie Brady scoring a 91st-minute penalty after the visitors had staged a two-goal comeback in Dublin.
Jon Egan's second goal in as many games (18) and Michael Obafemi's firmly-hit 25-yard strike (52) had put Stephen Kenny's side in a commanding position at the Aviva Stadium.
But two goals in the space of three minutes levelled the game as Artak Dashyan (71) and Eduard Spertsyan (73) both scored from distance to stun the home crowd.
Republic of Ireland were now clinging on to avoid a defeat which would have relegated them, only to restore their lead in stoppage time after referee Rade Obrenovic awarded the hosts a penalty for a handball by Dashyan, who was subsequently shown a second yellow card.
Hovhannes Hambardzumyan was also sent off for dissent as Armenia contested the decision to reduce them to nine men, but Brady kept his cool to slot his spot-kick and ensure Republic of Ireland ended an underwhelming Nations League campaign on a high note.
The win - just manager Kenny's fourth in 21 competitive fixtures - came as a relief on a night when defeat would have meant relegation, but third place behind Scotland and Ukraine represents a poor return for a nation which set out with ambitions to win the group.
Kenny told Premier Sports: "We were supposed to win this group and we ended up in a relegation battle against the 92nd-best team in the world and it's a last-minute penalty, so it depends on the group, on the draw, it always depends on the draw.
"Fingers crossed, there are more positive results to come, but we'll see. In the last two home games, we've scored three twice here. We have to get better at keeping clean sheets.
"It's not the creativity that concerns me. To be successful, that is an important dynamic in the team we have to improve."
Intent on revenge for their 1-0 defeat in Yerevan, Ireland went straight on the front foot as Jayson Molumby conducted proceedings from central midfield to force the visitors' five-man defence back to within touching distance of keeper David Yurchenko.
Such was the home side's early dominance that central defenders Nathan Collins and Dara O'Shea repeatedly found themselves in advanced positions, but they did not create an opening of note until Jason Knight picked out Obafemi with an 11th-minute cross and saw the striker head wastefully wide.
Egan also headed wide after O'Shea had turned Brady's 15th-minute corner back across goal, but the Sheffield United defender was not found wanting when presented with a second opportunity three minutes later.
He timed his jump perfectly to meet Brady's inswinging corner and power a downward header towards goal, where Yurchenko was unable to keep the ball out of his net as it reared up off the turf.
Knight and Brady both had shots blocked as the green shirts poured forward, but a lack of precision and a failure to move the ball as quickly as they had earlier allowed the Armenians, who had not mustered a single attempt on goal, to reach the break without further damage.
Molumby's evening might have taken a turn for the worse within three minutes of the restart when, having collected a first-half booking for a foul on Lucas Zelarayan, he appeared to pull back Artak Grigoryan, although Slovenian referee Rade Obrenovic took a benevolent view and the midfielder was withdrawn soon afterwards.
He had barely settled in his seat when Ireland extended their lead, Obafemi turning smartly 30 yards out before closing on goal and driving a skidding long-range effort beyond Yurchenko's despairing dive.
Collins headed Brady's inviting near-post corner over on the hour and Jeff Hendrick shot wide from distance with the game seemingly won, but it was then that they were hit with two sucker punches.
Keeper Gavin Bazunu, who had been little more than an interested by-stander until that point, had to turn Styopa Mkrtchyan's 71st-minute shot against a post, but when the ball fell to fellow substitute Dashyan, there was nothing he could do to keep it out.
Disappointment turned to horror within two minutes when Spertsyan, whose goal proved decisive at the Republican Stadium, repeated the dose to level at 2-2.
Khoren Bayramyan whistled an 83rd-minute attempt just wide of Bazunu's far post as Armenia threatened to snatch victory, but it was the home side who eventually prevailed in dramatic circumstances after Dashyan was adjudged to have handled O'Shea's shot inside the area after a VAR review.
Brady had to wait as Obrenovic dismissed both Hambardzumyan and the unfortunate Dashyan amid furious protests, but calmly sent Yurchenko the wrong way to spare Ireland's blushes.
Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny:
"It doesn't worry me at all. We were 2-0 up and went chasing the third goal when we didn't need to. We had centre-backs overlapping and we were 2-0 up in a game we needed to win.
"We lost a bit of structure - you must maintain the structure of your back three and some protection of that as well when you are winning 2-0.
"We weren't losing 2-0. We went chasing a third goal and got punished, and we came back and got the winner.
"Overall it is a really good performance with a few minutes of madness, and it's something we can learn from in terms of taking responsibility of not being exposed when you are winning like that."
Stephen Hunt on Sky Sports News:
"Ireland had to cling on for the victory in the end. It was five minutes of madness followed by an inexperienced 15 minutes of nerves. Armenia were dead and buried in the game and should never have been allowed back into it. To be fair, their first goal was a good strike after the initial effort had come back off the post.
"The second goal, I think Bazunu will be very disappointed he didn't save it from outside the box, and then near the end they had another strike at 2-2 from outside the box that could well have gone in.
"One thing I would say about Stephen Kenny's team is that the framework is in place. The experience has to be in place first and now they have to focus on getting results in the European Championship qualifiers.
"Overall, this Nations League campaign has been a slow progression. We should have won the game with far more ease than we did tonight, but overall it was a positive performance. It was typical of Stephen Kenny teams, as we were in control, conceded a goal and then looked like a bag of nerves. We just need to get that consistency and take it forward.
"Tonight will be a decent lesson for Jason Molumby, who could so easily have been sent off for a second bookable offence before Kenny decided to substitute him for his own good. Overall, Brady and Nathan Collins have been the big plus points tonight."
Former Ireland defender Richard Dunne was less than impressed with Ireland's campaign.
Asked about Stephen Kenny leading the nation into Euro 2024 qualification, he told Premier Sports: "You hear a lot of statistics about the Irish team, about three defeats in 16 or 17 games or something - the fact is we've won four of 21 competitive games, which isn't good enough.
"The manager is going to be there for the next campaign, that's going to happen. He's said that the team is going to be better in a year's time, which will be three years into his reign."
Asked if the Republic could reach the finals, Dunne added: "We were supposed to win this group and we ended up in a relegation battle against the 92nd-best team in the world and it's a last-minute penalty, so it depends on the group, on the draw, it always depends on the draw.
"Fingers crossed, there are more positive results to come, but we'll see."
Brady got the Republic of Ireland out of jail. They have won three of their last four home internationals, after enjoying just one victory in their previous 10 on home soil, and that was thanks to the 30-yar-old's cool head late on from 12 yards.
The Preston wing-back's first start for his country since March last year could hardly have ended in more satisfying fashion.
Brady said: "The manager said to me before the game I was going to be taking penalties if one did come, although I don't think we've had one in years.
"I wasn't holding my breath, but we got one in the end and luckily enough it went in."
This was a fine overall display, providing a goal and an assist to ensure Republic of Ireland didn't join England and Wales in suffering relegation this campaign.
They will now all be in League B when the competition comes around again. Brady registered his ninth assist for the Republic of Ireland, with seven of those goals coming via headers.
