Armenia fight back twice but concede to Montenegro in the 89th minute

Armenia lost 3–2 to Montenegro in the second round of the UEFA Nations League. Yeghishe Melikyan’s side equalised twice, but a late goal from Aleksa Latković gave the visitors the win.

In the 20th minute, the ball deflected off Erik Piloyan’s back and into Armenia’s net. Artur Serobyan equalised in the 34th minute after a pass from goalkeeper Ognen Čančarević, but Nikola Krstović restored Montenegro’s lead before half-time, making it 2–1.

Armenia drew level again in the second half. In the 65th minute, Eduard Spertsyan received a pass from Georgiy Harutyunyan near the halfway line, went past several opponents and struck accurately from distance. It was the Armenia captain’s 13th international goal.

The decisive moment came in the 89th minute, when substitute Latković scored Montenegro’s third. VAR checked the goal for offside. The graphic shown during the review prompted debate, but the goal stood.

After two rounds, Armenia have three points and Montenegro have six. Melikyan’s team will play their next match away to Cyprus on 2 October. Artur Serobyan received a yellow card and will miss that game; Edgar Sevikyan was also booked.

Armenia (5-2-3): Čančarević — Bandikyan, Piloyan (Manvelyan, 90+2), Petrosyan, Harutyunyan, Tiknizyan — Iwu (Karlen Hovhannisyan, 55), Spertsyan — Serobyan (Sevikyan, 70), Shaghoyan (Narek Hovhannisyan, 46) — Miranyan (Garibyan, 55).

Montenegro (4-4-2): Popović — Roganović (Latković, 68), Savić, Đurić, Gašević (Radunović, 68) — Janković, Lončar (Adžić, 68), Vuković (Vešović, 54), Bulatović — Krstović, Osmajić (Jovetić, 79).