SPORTSWORLD.AM
In the 22nd round of the Fastex Premier League, Yerevan's "Noa" hosted Charentsavan's "Van". The two teams are neighbors in the current season's standings. "Noa" has 38 points and is in the top five, while the team led by Artur Asoyan is in sixth place with 25 points. In case of victory, Sandro Perkovic's boys can overtake fourth-placed "Pyunik", who has 41 points and lost to Yerevan's "Ararat" in the current round.
At the start of the match, “Noah” had more possession of the ball, but “Van” is a difficult opponent for teams at the top of the standings. In the previous round, the Charentsavan club offered a hot fight to “Urartu” at home, but lost 1:2, the only goal for “Van” was scored by Benik Hovhannisyan, who appeared in the starting lineup of his team in this match. The guests gradually tried to organize attacks on the “Noah” goal, but the Yerevan team was ready to neutralize every moment. “Noah” also used every moment to open the score with long-range shots.
In the 31st minute of the match, Saientini tried to shoot from a distance, which was passed to Nardin Mulahusejnović, who could not hit the goal from close range, defended by Daniela Bokov. At the end of the first half, “Noa” tried to take the lead in order to start the second half in a winning position, but the home team’s efforts remained fruitless. Two minutes before the end of the regular time of the first half, “Noa” midfielder Gor Manvelyan could have put his team ahead, but in the 45th minute, after Manvelyan’s free kick, Portuguese Gonzalo Silva opened the score of the match (1:0). Let's add that three matches have already taken place in this round: "Ararat" won 1:0 over "Pyunik", the match between "Urartu" and "Alashkert" ended in a victory for the guests (3:1), and "CSKA" and "Gandzasar" of Kapan did not determine the winner (1:1).
At the start of the second half, “Noah” continued to maintain its advantage, but was in the field trying to break through the opponent’s defense. As is known, a 1:0 score does not guarantee victory in football, which we have witnessed many times this season. In the 67th minute of the match, Helder Ferreira sent a back pass to 28-year-old Takuto Oshima, who, entering the penalty area, doubled his team’s advantage (2:0), scoring his second goal in the current championship. Let’s add that he has participated in 31 matches in all competitions for “Noah”. After scoring the second goal, “Noah” did not relax its vigilance, the main actions were taking place in the half-field of the Charentsavan club and in the penalty area, “Noah” defenders were able to quickly respond to “Vani’s” attacks.
Thus, "Noah" gained an advantage, increasing the number of points over "Van" to 41, and with additional indicators overtook the 16-time champion of Armenia, taking fourth place in the tournament table. "Van" confidently maintains sixth place with 25 points.
The championship fight is intensifying in the Fastex Premier League, with the top three teams - Ararat-Armenia, Urartu and Alashkert - having 42 points each, while Noah and Pyunik have 41 points each. It can be stated that five clubs are currently in the championship fight.