Ararat-Armenia beat Universitatea Cluj in extra time (VIDEO)

Yerevan's Ararat-Armenia secured a hard-fought victory over Romania's Universitatea Cluj and advanced to the third round of the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers. The outcome was decided in extra time. The match took place on July 31 in the city of Sibiu.

The Romanians opened the scoring as early as the 13th minute thanks to a precise header from Jovo Lukić. However, in the second half, Ararat-Armenia significantly improved their attack, and in the 53rd minute, Kamo Hovhannisyan finished off a beautiful team move, converting João Lima's pass to make it 1-1.

The regular time ended in a draw, and the fate of the match was decided by substitute Paul Ayongo. The Ghanaian newcomer scored the winning goal in the 117th minute, sending his team through to the next round. This was Ayongo’s first goal for Ararat-Armenia.

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In the third qualifying round, the team will face Czech side Sparta, who defeated Kazakhstan’s Aktobe. The matches will take place on August 7 and 14.

Thus, two Armenian teams continue to compete in European cups. Noah will face Gibraltar’s Lincoln in the third round of the Europa League, while Pyunik was eliminated by Hungary’s Győr the day before. Earlier, Urartu had ended its Conference League campaign.