Gandzasar on the rise in Armenia

In the last month FC Gandzasar Kapan made the biggest progress of all the top-flight clubs. The team from the south of Armenia won five matches in a row and moved from sixth place to third.

Barsegyan replacement
At the beginning of the year, coach Albert Sargsyan left the team and the board of the club began looking for a replacement. They signed a short-term contract with ex-Armenia coach Suren Barsegyan, who started preparing for the new season. Like all other local clubs, Gandzasar started the campaign with national cup games.

Contenders defeated
In the last 16 they beat first division side FC Bentonit 1-0 at home but lost the away game 2-0 to bow out of the tournament. After that they made a great start in the Armenian league, winning their first match at home to title contenders FC Ararat Yerevan. This victory inspired Gandzasar and the team went on to defeat FC Ulis Yerevan and draw with FC Shirak and FC Kilikia.

Coach departs
After four rounds the team were in second place but then Barsegyan left the club to take control of Ulis. Without the coach, the team suffered four subsequent defeats at the hands of leaders FC Pyunik, FC Banants, FC MIKA and Ararat. After that ex-Pyunik coach Samvel Petrosyan was given a place at the helm. This decision brought an immediate effect with the team becoming more solid at the back and more aggressive up front.

Awesome August
As a result the Kapan club earned a surprise victory at Banants then won five games in August. The third round of the Armenian championship started for Gandzasar with another win against Ararat. This was the beginning of a great run of five matches. The most important victory was gained in an away match against reigning champions Pyunik (2-1) which saw Gandzasar pull level with third-placed Banants. Gandzasar's key player is the experienced Artur Kocharyan, who is an idol for local supporters.

Player influx
The striker is their leading goalscorer for the second year running. Last term he scored 15 goals and has seven already in this campaign. The squad was recently strengthened with Pyunik's Valeri Aleksanyan, Banants' Artak Oseyan and two Romanian players - Constantin Paunescu and Virgil Marsavela. Their recent success has inspired the club's board to be more active in the transfer market with four more players currently on trial.