Armenia round-up: Spartak stop Pyunik charge

FC Pyunik's winning streak has finally come to a halt after the champions were held to a 2-2 draw by FC Spartak Yerevan at the Republican stadium today.

Brothers meet
The in-form Karamyan brothers, who have been inspired for Pyunik this season, were countered by a pair of Hakobyan brothers from Spartak. Arman Karamyan latched on to a pass from his brother Artavazd to open the scoring on 50 minutes, but Aram Hakobyan picked up a rebound to equalise just two minutes later. Another Hakobyan brother, Ara, beat his marker José Bilibio to put Spartak in front on 59 minutes, only for Aram Voskanyan to equalise on 67 minutes. Spartak could then have won the game, but Pyunik’s Andranik Karagezyan saved a penalty from Aram Hakobyan.

Gap closed
Elsewhere today, FC Shirak closed the gap on Pyunik, by beating FC Lernayin Artsakh 2-1. Karen Aleksanyan scored twice for Shirak, while Erik Galstyan pulled a goal back late in the game. The result added extra spice to the forthcoming meeting between Shirak and Pyunik on 4 October. The final match on Monday saw FSC Lori go down 5-0 at home against FC Zvartnots AAL.

Up to third
In yesterday’s games, FC Banants Yerevan advanced to third place by beating FC Lernagorts 1-0 thanks to Tigran Yesayan's goal for the visitors. Another high-flying team, FC MIKA, were held to a surprise 3-3 home draw by FC Dinamo-2000 Baku. Finally in Sunday's action, FC Ararat Yerevan won 5-1 at FC Kotayk.