Armenia round-up: Pyunik hit the heights

 FC Pyunik moved to the top of the Armenian Premier League table with a 3-0 victory over FC MIKA, while former leaders FC Shirak were held 3-3 by FC Kotayk.

Ndjumbuk and Manucharyan impress
Pyunik over came MIKA thanks to three second-half goals, with youngsters Balep Ndjumbuk and Edgar Manucharyan catching the eye. Ndjumbuk broke the deadlock on 63 minutes following a neat one-two with Rafael Nazaryan, before Manucharyan added a second 12 minutes later minutes.

Professional foul
Pyunik's Valeri Aleksanyan was sent off for a professional foul in the 75th minute but MIKA failed to make the most of their numerical advantage and Manucharyan scored his second of the game two minutes from time following Khose Bilibio's clever assist.

Resilient Kotayk
Shirak fell from top spot as they were held by a resilient Kotayk in Abovyan. Tigran Davtyan opened the scoring for Shirak after six minutes and Artyom Hakobyan doubled the lead on 23 minutes. Shirak then became complacent and were immediately punished by Kotayk's Arshak Amiryan strike four minutes later.

Kagramanov the hero
Kotayk captain Sargis Nazaryan levelled matters in the 73rd minute but the visitors were back on terms five minutes later when Vardan Bichakhchyan gave Shirak the lead. However, substitute Vadim Kagramanov was the hero for Kotayk, scoring his equaliser seven minutes from full time.

Poor start
FC Banants, who have recovered from a poor start to the season to record four straight wins, maintained their fine run with a 2-0 FC win against FC Lernagorts. Ara Hakobyan converted from the penalty spot for both goals on four and 88 minutes. Elsewhere, FC Dinamo-2000 Yerevan handed FC Araks their seventh successive defeat as Nver Khachatryan's last-minute strike settled matters.