Noah vs history: Can an Armenian club eliminate a Swiss opponent for the first time?

On August 13, Noah will play the second leg against Sion in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. After a 2-2 draw in Armenia, the tie will be decided in Switzerland. The match could become a historic one for the Yerevan club: no club representing independent Armenia has ever managed to eliminate a Swiss opponent from a European competition.

The first match between Noah and Sion, played in Abovyan on August 6, ended in a 2-2 draw. The Armenian side took the lead twice: Hélder Ferreira converted a penalty in the fifth minute, while Gor Manvelyan scored in the 20th. However, the visitors responded on both occasions through goals from Winsley Boteli and Ilyas Chouaref. Sion were reduced to ten men in the 26th minute following the dismissal of Nias Hefti, but Noah defender Stone Mambo was also shown a red card in the 65th minute.

The draw left the tie completely open. But ahead of the return leg, Noah have another source of motivation — the chance to change Armenian football's extremely poor record against Swiss clubs.

13 defeats and only one draw

Before the current season, Armenian clubs had faced Swiss opposition seven times in European competitions. Six of those were two-legged knockout ties, and on every occasion the Swiss team advanced. The other meetings came in the group stage of the 2022/23 Conference League, when Pyunik faced Basel twice.

Before the Noah-Sion tie, Armenian and Swiss clubs had played a total of 14 matches against each other. The record was almost entirely one-sided: 13 wins for Swiss teams and just one draw. Armenian clubs had not recorded a single victory, scoring seven goals and conceding 37.

For nearly two decades, Banants were the only Armenian club to avoid defeat in a match against Swiss opposition. In 2007, the Yerevan side drew 1-1 at home with Young Boys, but lost the return leg 4-0 in Bern and were eliminated from the UEFA Cup.

That draw has now been joined by Noah's result against Sion. Following the first leg of the current tie, the overall record of Armenian clubs against Swiss teams stands at 15 matches: 13 defeats, two draws and no wins.

How Armenian clubs have fared against Swiss opposition

The first such tie after Armenia gained independence took place in the 2002/03 season. Spartak Yerevan faced Servette in UEFA Cup qualifying. The Swiss side won both matches, 2-0 and 3-0, advancing 5-0 on aggregate.

2002/03 — UEFA Cup
Spartak Yerevan — Servette — 0-5
Matches: 0-2, 0-3.

Three years later, Lernagorts-Ararat faced Neuchâtel Xamax in the Intertoto Cup. It remains the heaviest aggregate defeat suffered by an Armenian club against Swiss opposition: a 3-1 loss in the first leg followed by a 6-0 defeat in the return fixture — 9-1 on aggregate.

2005 — Intertoto Cup
Lernagorts-Ararat — Neuchâtel Xamax — 1-9
Matches: 1-3, 0-6.

The very next season, Young Boys became the next Swiss opponent for an Armenian club. Mika lost 3-1 to the Bern side in Yerevan before suffering a 1-0 defeat in Switzerland.

2006/07 — UEFA Cup
Mika — Young Boys — 1-4
Matches: 1-3, 0-1.

A year later, Young Boys returned to Armenia, this time to face Banants. That was when an Armenian club recorded its first draw against Swiss opposition, 1-1. However, the hosts won 4-0 in Bern and advanced to the next round without major difficulty.

2007/08 — UEFA Cup
Banants — Young Boys — 1-5
Matches: 1-1, 0-4.

In the 2008/09 season, Yerevan's Ararat faced Bellinzona. The Swiss club won 1-0 in Armenia and then took the return leg 3-1, making it 4-1 on aggregate.

2008/09 — UEFA Cup
Ararat — Bellinzona — 1-4
Matches: 0-1, 1-3.

The next meeting came four years later. In the 2012/13 Europa League qualifiers, Gandzasar were drawn against Servette. The Geneva club won both matches, 2-0 and 3-1, advancing 5-1 on aggregate.

2012/13 — Europa League
Gandzasar — Servette — 1-5
Matches: 0-2, 1-3.

Finally, in 2022, Armenian and Swiss clubs met outside the qualifying rounds for the first time, facing each other in the group stage of a European competition. Pyunik and Basel were drawn in the same Conference League group. Basel won 3-1 in Switzerland and then claimed a 2-1 victory in Yerevan in the final round of the group stage.

2022/23 — Conference League group stage
Basel — Pyunik — 3-1
Pyunik — Basel — 1-2

Noah have a chance to rewrite history

The current tie between Noah and Sion is therefore the eighth Armenian-Swiss club matchup in European competition since Armenia gained independence.

And the first leg has already improved a dismal record. The 2-2 draw was only the second draw for an Armenian club in 15 matches against Swiss opposition. A first victory, however, is still to come.

This time, though, the result of one individual match matters less than the outcome of the tie as a whole.

All six previous two-legged ties ended in the same way — with the Swiss representative advancing. Noah now have the opportunity to break that pattern for the first time.

After the 2-2 draw in Abovyan, everything will be decided in Sion on August 13. A victory would send Noah into the next qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League and, at the same time, allow the Yerevan club to achieve something no representative of independent Armenia has managed before — eliminate a Swiss team from a European tie.