Melikyan after the victory over Győr: “Our game is not over yet”

Pyunik head coach Yeghishe Melikyan summed up the results of the first match of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League against the Hungarian Gyor. The match took place on July 24 in Yerevan and ended with the victory of the Armenian team with a score of 2:1.

Yeghishe Melikyan's post-match press conference

On the match:

“Congratulations to everyone on the win. I don't want to say too much about this result because the tie against Győr isn't over — we still have the second leg ahead. Of course, it's very pleasing to win, it gives us confidence. But the return leg is away, so we must prepare very well.

Tactically, we played well, didn’t allow the opponent many chances, and successfully neutralized their strengths. In attack, we created dangerous moments, but we also had individual errors, which led to frequent losses of possession. Our finishing also lacked quality — we could have scored more with better execution. Overall, we had more dangerous chances. Yes, they had more possession, but that was part of our plan.

We conceded an unfortunate own goal — that’s football, it happens. Milkovic had a very good match, and the own goal was just a coincidence. Maybe it happened due to fatigue. It’s okay, the most important thing is that we won.”

On the decision to leave Otubanjo on the bench:

“Today we chose to play with one striker and two wingers. Vareika and Moreno are strong wingers, so they started, and for the striker role I had to choose between Nubissi and Otubanjo. In the end, we picked Nubissi, but Yusuf came on in the second half and helped a lot. Unfortunately, our finishing let us down, as I mentioned earlier. Otubanjo is one of our key players, but the decision to start him on the bench was purely tactical — he’s not losing the competition for a spot.”

On Matas Vareika:

“He’s our leader. A very serious player and a true professional. We’ll see the best version of him soon, as he had an injury and missed pre-season, so now he’s just getting into form. He has tremendous potential.”

On Gevorg Tarakhchyan:

“Tarakhchyan is still young. He started in previous matches, but he needs more time to gain consistency. He still has a lot to learn before he can be a regular starter in matches like this. Right now, he reads the game poorly and always reacts after the fact — he needs to play a bit smarter. He’s in good physical condition now, and we’ll keep working with him.”

On Győr’s physical strength:

“Yes, Győr is a powerful team — a real machine. They remind me of Kalmar (whom we beat twice in 2023). The away leg will be tough, they will go all out, so we need to withstand that kind of pressure. We haven’t yet reached our best physical shape, which I can’t say about the opponent.”

On transfers:

“I believe our transfer window is nearly complete. But maybe we still have 1–2 spots open in the squad. It will depend on quality — we’ll only sign someone if it’s a real reinforcement. It’s hard to say now whether that will happen. In any case, I’d like to fill 1–2 more positions.”

On Lucas Villela’s injury:

“Yes, it's very unfortunate. Sadly, we won’t see him back until November. It’s a big loss for us.”

On Daniele Aghbalyan:

“He’s not yet in full form. I’m very happy he’s with us, but there are other strong players in his position — the competition is tough. Of course, he won’t start every match, but that kind of competition is good — for him and for the team.”

On the development of Armenian football:

“Of course, football in Armenia has grown. We have strong domestic competition now. Club owners are investing heavily, and I’m very thankful for that. You can see for yourself — we can now compete with strong teams and even beat them. That says a lot. I hadn’t seen this before, except maybe as a rare exception, but now we go into every match believing we can win. About the national team: I believe Armenia can compete with Hungary. We might not beat them, but we’re not inferior.”

On defending:

“The opponent created chances mostly through long passes and numerical superiority in attack. Any team can do that, but it left them exposed in defense. We could easily create threats on the counterattack — and we did, but our individual level didn’t let us fully capitalize. The only goal we conceded came from our own mistake and misfortune, so I’m generally satisfied with the defenders.”

On David Davidyan’s departure:

“I can’t say exactly why he left. But we parted on friendly terms. I just wish him the best.”

On Karlen Hovhannisyan’s return:

“He’s a very good player, and I’m happy he’s back. His two years at BKMA helped him a lot — he’s grown as a footballer. I told him he just needs to wait a bit and I’ll give him playing time — it’s still a bit risky to field him now. But I definitely count on him and don’t want to let him go.”

On Vagner Gonçalves:

“He’s on loan with us until December, so he will play. Wagner had an Achilles tendon injury and missed a lot of time. After that, it’s hard to immediately return to form. But I always believe he will get back to his level. So far, he hasn’t. Right now, he’s losing the competition for a starting spot, but he’s very useful off the bench and played well today. In the winter, we’ll decide on his future.”

On Henry Avagyan’s reliability:

“In the spring, it was very tough for me when we lost Avagyan. It was important to keep him in the team, but we couldn’t do it then. I’m glad we fixed that and brought him back. He gives us confidence, and he’s a great person and goalkeeper. He often saves us from goals — but that’s his job: if he doesn’t make saves, he won’t play.”