Connah’s Quay Nomads 2-2 FC Alashkert: Nomads earn respectable first-leg result
George Horan of Connahs Quay celebrates scoring his sides second goal. Connahs Quay v FC Alashkert in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round at Park Avenue on the 7th July 2021. Credit: Lewis Mitchell
Connah’s Quay grounded out a 2-2 draw with FC Alashkert at Park Avenue to remain in contention of progression in the Champions League.
George Horan’s goal on 79 minutes was enough for the hosts to secure a draw against a very strong and technical Alashkert side.
The Nomads captain pounced on a loose ball after the goalkeeper had been bundled to the floor from a corner.
A brace from Russian attacker David Khurtsidze saw the Armenian champions fight back after falling behind to a Craig Curran goal against the run of play.
Alashkert got the action underway at Park Avenue and they continued to keep the ball for a large portion of the early proceedings.
They could have scored within two minutes of the first half when they countered from a Danny Holmes long throw.
James broke down the left before delivering a dangerous cross but nobody was there to meet the Brazilian’s ball.
The visitors continued to dominate the game as the poor pitch conditions caused more problems for the Nomads than Alashkert.
Despite their early dominance, it was Connah’s Quay that took a surprise lead through Craig Curran on 19 minutes.
Jamie Mullan’s cross from the right towards Michael Wilde tested the goalkeeper who could only punch the straight into the path of Curran who fired into the net.
But within a minute Alashkert had pulled level through new signing David Khurtsidze.
The former Russian youth international picked the ball up on the edge of the area before creating some space to fire the ball past Byrne.
Following the goal, the four-time Armenian champions reasserted themselves on the game.
They went close to taking the lead on several occasions through Rumyan Hovsepyan who couldn’t keep his shots under the bar.
On the brink of halftime, their pressure finally paid off as Khurtsidze got his second of the game.
Fellow debutant José Embaló dummied a long ball leaving it for Khurtsidze to smash the ball right into the top corner, out of reach from Byrne.
Two minutes into the seconds half Connah’s Quay were forced into making their third change – having brought Aeron Edwards and Kris Owen on at the break – as Danny Holmes went down injured.
After eight minutes Holmes was replaced by Thomas Moore as he was withdrawn from the field on a stretcher.
The long break in play did nothing to halt The Yellows as they continued to pass the ball around neatly.
Substitute Artak Edigaryan went the closest to grabbing a third goal which would have killed the game, sending long-range shots just wide of the post on two occasions.
But once again for all of Alashkert’s dominance, The Nomads found the back of the net for the second time with 11 minutes of regular time remaining,
A corner from the left was played towards the goalkeeper who was muscled to the ground in a scramble.
The ball fell loose in the box and captain George Horan pounced onto the ball to give The Nomads an equaliser.
Thirteen minutes of additional time were awarded at the end of the second half which led to a tense end to the game.
Neither team wanted to risk losing the game late on as The Nomads tried to turn the game into a physical battle in injury time.
A succession of free-kicks killed the game’s momentum as the only real chance of injury time came from nowhere.
Edigaryan fired a free-kick from 40 yards at goal hoping to catch Byrne off guard but it swerved just wide of the post.
After 102 minutes of play, the Cypriot referee blew his whistle for full time meaning The Nomads take a 2-2 draw into the game in Yerevan.
Connah’s Quay Nomads: Oliver Byrne, John Disney, George Horan, Danny Holmes (Thomas Moore, 57), Callum Morris, Jay Owen (Aren Edwards, 46), Danny Harrison (Kris Owen, 46), Declan Poole, Jamie Mullan (Aron Williams, 96), Mike Wilde, Craig Curran
Goals: Craig Curran 19′, George Horan 79′
FC Alashkert: Ognjen Cancarevic, James, Dejan Boljevic, Didier Kadio, Taron Voskanyan, Tiago Cametá, David Davidyan (Nikita Tankov, 102), Artak Grigoryan, Rumyan Hovsepyan (Artak Edigaryan, 67), David Khurtsidze, José Embaló (Aleksander Glišić, 67)
Goals: David Khurtsidze 21′, 44′
