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Armenia captain Tigran Barseghyan was shown a red card for headbutting Finn Azaz.
Finn Azaz stated that Armenia captain Tigran Barseghyan “lost his head” following the headbutt on the Republic of Ireland midfielder during Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier in Dublin.
The pivotal moment occurred when Barseghyan was ejected seven minutes into the second half after thrusting his head into Azaz’s face during a sideline confrontation.
Capitalizing on their numerical advantage, the Republic of Ireland broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a header from Evan Ferguson, securing a crucial first victory in World Cup qualifying.
Azaz of Southampton highlighted the red card as the turning point for the hosts, who previously rallied from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Hungary last month after Roland Sallai’s dismissal.
“It was a heated game, emotions were high, and it was a physical contest, so these things can happen,” Azaz told BBC Sport NI.
“He lost his head, and the consequence was that they went down to 10 men. It was a headbutt; I felt the contact.”
Azaz, who was included in the starting lineup by Heimir Hallgrimsson, added, “There’s not much more for me to say about it. It was in the heat of the moment, and it changed the game; that’s part of football.”
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The tense victory in Dublin moves the Republic of Ireland to third place in Group F, trailing Hungary by one point. Hungary strengthened their chances of securing a play-off spot with a dramatic late draw against Portugal.
The group remains finely balanced with two games remaining. Should Hungary defeat Armenia in their next match, the Republic of Ireland must secure at least a point to carry the battle for second place into their trip to Budapest on November 16.
The Republic of Ireland’s hopes have been dampened twice by late goals during this international window, including conceding a 91st-minute goal by Ruben Neves in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Portugal in Lisbon.
However, Azaz hopes the Irish players can build on that performance and Tuesday’s crucial win in their quest to upset Cristiano Ronaldo and company in Dublin on November 13.
“We know it’s going to be tough, but we’ll take confidence from last week and this game, and we’ll be confident that we can do something special,” Azaz added.
“It’s going to be a big occasion. We saw in the last game that we can compete, and they’re top players, but we have to be able to compete, and no doubt we’ll be right up for it.”
Armenia boss Yegishe Melikyan said Barseghyan apologised to his team-mates after the game.
“Of course, the red card changed the game. It was a mistake,” said Melikyan.
“He took responsibility. He said sorry to the whole dressing room. But, if a player makes a mistake, it is also my mistake and for that I apologise.
“If there was no red card and we played 11 v 11, I think we could have got a good result. I thought we could have won, but we must go forward and I think we can get good results in the near future.”
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