DIRECT FROM YEREVAN | The National Stadium in Yerevan was indeed solidly filled, as promised by the home organizers. While only the Czechs and Slovakian Martin Králik took to the pitch in Mladá Boleslav’s base, the host team consisted of nine different nationalities. And the performance of both units was also different. Under the smoke screen of smoking fans, Noah defeated Mlada Boleslav with a class difference of 2:0. “Now it will be a lot about psychology, in less than two days we have another difficult match. It will be about individual interviews and some restart of the whole team,” said the coach of the guests, Andreas Brännström, immediately after the match.
After only 22 seconds, Brazilian Matheus Aias attempted a shot on the edge of the goal. He predicted it would be a hot half. The Central Bohemians were not afraid of it and pulled out the press. The opening minutes were a wild spectacle. But before long, the greater technical equipment of the Armenian “Babylon” became apparent.
Mladá Boleslav was often forced to kick the ball forward and Kušej, Mašek or Ladra didn’t have much of a chance against bigger stoppers due to their height. Langhamer’s not very strong shot and a hint of a chance when, after a mistake by the home side, Vydra made a bad pass to Mašek’s tutka, there were only rare screams from Central Bohemia. The Czech ambassador, on the other hand, had the impression that Noah often only shot into the middle of the goal at the prepared Trmal. Hélder Ferreira’s Tutov was knocked down for a corner by Jakub Fulnek.
“The first twenty minutes weren’t perfect, but they were still cool. We played against a technically proficient team. You don’t see many units in Europe that immediately set up counter-attacks. We have to learn a lot from this in order to succeed in the future,” Brännström assessed the course of the match.
Boleslav’s attempt to combine more after the break was nice, but in the 58th minute, Virgile Pinson got a great cross from the defense and served the ball to Matheus’ foot. The Brazilian was not wrong this time, and joy erupted in Yerevan. An interesting fact was that many fans in the stands under the press bridge were smoking one cigarette after another. A phenomenon not seen in the Czech Republic for a long time.
Both coaches alternated. Andreas Brännström sent the trio Král, Sakala, Mareček into the game. But Noah’s welcoming committee awarded them the second goal. After an exemplary interplay, when the rookie on the field Goncalo Gregório did not rush, he passed to a free Pinson, and the best player on the field destroyed Boleslav. The event of the evening, which only underlined the technical sophistication of the offensive players of the Armenian team. When Pinson pulled Mott off the field in the setup, many fans stood up. The French dominated.
The overall shot ratio spoke volumes. Noah mastered this statistic 26:10. With a clear conscience, Mladá Boleslav’s entry into the Conference League can be considered miserable. “It is the biggest disappointment in my engagement in Mladá Boleslav, even though the Czech league is understandably important for us,” confided the Swedish coach.
In addition, Vojtěch Stránský, who spent less than seven minutes on the field as a substitute, was injured. “It was necessary, he got hit in the face and we couldn’t stop the bleeding,” explained Brännström.
Goals
Home: 58. Aiás, 76. Pinson
Assemblies
Home: Čančarević (C) – Mendoza (69. Manveljan), Gonçalo Silva, Muradjan, Thorarinsson – Sangaré, Eteki (85. Avanesjan), Omar (69. Gregório) – Ferreira, Aiás (69. Çinari), Pinson (90+3. Petrosjan).
Guests: Trmal – Donát (74. Sakala), Suchý (C), Králik (74. Král) – Kostka, Vydra, Langhamer (74. Mareček), Fulnek – Ladra, Mašek (82. Stránský, 89. Matějovský), Kušej.
Substitutes
Home: Ploščadnij, Gregório, Dašjan, Çinari, Avanesjan, Hambardzumjan, Miljković, Manveljan, Petrosjan
Guests: Floder, Mikulec, Sakala, Žitný, Matějovský, Stráná, Král, Penner, Pulkrab, Kadlec, Mareček, Jawo
Cards
Home: Sangaré
Guests: Langhamer, Otter
Referee
Gidženov – Maximov, Mitrev (BUL)
Stadium
Republican Stadium after Vazgen Sargsjan
