Soccer: Poland 1 Armenia 0

POLAND 1 ARMENIA 0

Sportinglife.com, UK
March 29 2007

Poland extended their lead at the top of Group A despite making hard
work of a poor Armenia side.

A home win always seemed the most likely result with top playing
bottom and the gulf in class told in the 26th minute when man-of-
the-match Maciej Zurawski scored the decisive goal to give the Poles
a five-point lead after Portugal’s draw with Serbia.

The striker looked lively from the off and tested Roman Berezovsky
within three minutes with a right-footed effort from 12 yards.

Soon after Poland defender Dariusz Dudka was inches away from giving
the home side the lead when he headed Lukasz Gargula’s eighth-minute
corner over the bar.

Armenia took 21 minutes to call Polish number one Artur Boruc into
action, but the Celtic goalkeeper had little trouble taking Levon
Pachajyan’s inswinging corner from the left.

Boruc’s Hoops team-mate Zurawski continued to look a danger and was
again denied by Berezovsky with a vicious right-footer from the edge
of the area.

But soon the Celtic striker got the goal his efforts deserved when he
coolly steered Michal Zewlakow left-wing cross into the bottom-right
corner from 12 yards.

It was Zurawski who continued to take the game to the Armenians and
twice in the space of a minute he almost registered his second of
the game.

First Berezovsky came to the rescue with a smart save to deny the
striker from 20 yards before Armenian defender Karen Dokhoyan did
well to get in the way of his effort from similar range.

Berezovsky continued to be the busiest player on the field and
in the 40th minute he was again called into action to deny Jakub
Blaszczykowski’s shot from the left channel.

Pachajyan registered a shot for the home side in the 51st minute
but his 30-yard strike was always rising and finished well above
the crossbar.

But it was the Poles who always looked the more likely to double
the advantage.

Przemyslaw Kazmierczak’s well struck shot was just over Berezovsky’s
bar and a minute later Blaszczykowski’s fierce drive from 20 yards
fizzed just wide of the left post.

Teams:

Poland Boruc, Dudka, Bak, Wasilewski, Zewlakow,Krzynowek (Jelen
83), Blaszczykowski, Lewandowski, Gargula,Zurawski, Kazmierczak
(Sobolewski 61).

Subs Not Used: Kowalewski, Bronowicki, Baszczynski, Matusiak,
Lobodzinski.

Goals: Zurawski 26.

Armenia Berezovsky, Melikyan, Dokhoyan, Hovsepyan,
Arzumanyan,Khachatryan, Nazaryan (Manucharyan 45),Artavazd Karamyan
(Melkonyan 68), Pachajyan,Shahgeldyan (Mkhitaryan 75), Zebelian.

Subs Not Used: Kasparov, Ara Hakobyan, Arman Karamyan, Aleksanyan.

Booked: Melikyan, Pachajyan, Dokhoyan, Khachatryan.

Att: 15,000 Ref: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS