Armenia National Team Coach: “We were playing with an empty fuel tank – that’s why the score was like that”
- Author: Vahe Hakobyan
- Sportaran
After a heavy 2-5 defeat against Kosovo, Armenia national team head coach John van’t Schip held a press conference where he gave a detailed analysis of the match, discussed the reasons for the loss, the players’ physical conditions, and squad shortages.
Here’s what the Dutch coach said at the press conference:
On the course of the match and the reasons for the defeat:
“For the first hour of the game, we looked good and controlled the game. Then that foul and the penalty against us happened. After that, we started making too many individual mistakes and couldn’t keep up with the tempo – the players got tired.”
On the players’ physical condition:
“The solution is for all players to get sufficient playing time at their clubs. You saw how well Sevikyan started and then just got tired – the same with Tiknizyan. They don’t get much match practice in their clubs and can’t yet play 90 minutes at a high level. Artur Miranyan also doesn’t play much in Romania. Hambardzumyan was also very tired in the second half. We wanted to substitute him before the penalty, Kamo was ready to come on, but we didn’t make it in time.”
On squad rotation and competition:
“When you have two games in three days, you need to select two balanced lineups. Also decide who can play the full matches. Compared to Kosovo and Georgia, they have many more players in top leagues with regular playing time. In our case, only in the Russian Premier League do players get regular minutes – and not all of them. Perhaps only Spertsyan is an exception. We need more players in strong leagues who get match practice.”
Why Artur Miranyan played despite lacking game time:
“You also need to consider the quality of a player. Miranyan has the qualities to play as a striker and is ahead of the others in this role. Even with limited game time, he could help us in the final minutes. I just don’t see strikers in the Armenian league who could perform at the national team level right now. If we had one, we wouldn’t have started with a false nine.”
On the loss of concentration:
“After the second goal, we lost focus. I repeat: if you always play at a high level, you can stay focused throughout the game – as Kosovo did. We played with an empty fuel tank. That’s why the score turned out that way.”
On solving the physical condition issue:
“I hope that more Armenian players will get match time this summer, and that some will transfer to stronger leagues. We work with the players we have. The list is not big, and our future depends on their improved match fitness.”
On goalkeeper Henri Avagyan:
“Henri played a very good game. He made several important saves and was good in build-up play. Of course, when you concede five goals, you can’t say the goalkeeper had a great game – but Henri did stop a few very dangerous shots.”
On Tigran Avanesyan:
“In the first 60 minutes, Tigran did well and fulfilled his role. When Spertsyan and Harutyunyan were next to him, he handled it well. But when Manvelyan came on for Harutyunyan and played higher, Avanesyan’s responsibilities increased, and he started losing position. It was hard for him – and the whole team – to get back into rhythm.”
Who is more at fault – the coach or the players?
“After the first half, I was more angry with the referee. He didn’t call a foul when Sevikyan went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and was brought down – there was no whistle. After the match, I was just disappointed. After a defeat like this, that’s normal.”
On playing with five or four defenders:
“Against Georgia, we played with five at the back, but I don’t think it helped us then either. If you noticed, today defensive midfielder Tigran Avanesyan dropped back and took the center-back position. But in the second half, as the tempo increased, he couldn’t keep up – gaps started appearing in our defense.”
Video of the press conference.
Armenia’s lineup for this match:
Henri Avagyan — Hovhannes Hambardzumyan (Kamo Hovhannisyan, 63), Sergey Muradyan, Gevorg Harutyunyan, Nair Tiknizyan (Edgar Grigoryan, 69) — Tigran Avanesyan, Hovhannes Harutyunyan (Gor Manvelyan, 46), Eduard Spertsyan (C) — Edgar Sevikyan (Artur Miranyan, 63), Jirair Shaghoyan (Thomas Adoryan, 46), Artur Serobyan (Narek Grigoryan, 82).