Armenian football champions Ararat-Armenia faced the Irish side Shamrock Rovers in the first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round.
In the match held at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan, the team led by Portuguese head coach Manuel Tulipa won 2–0.
In the 51st minute, 35-year-old Brazilian forward Sandro Lima scored for Ararat-Armenia (video).
Kamo Hovhannisyan, a defender for both the Armenian national team and Ararat-Armenia, sustained an injury in the 75th minute. He was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.
In the 81st minute, 27-year-old midfielder Zidan Banjakini, representing Guinea-Bissau, doubled the Yerevan team’s lead (video). He received the assist from 31-year-old Brazilian forward Carlos Franca.
The return leg will take place on July 28 in Dublin, the capital of Ireland.
The winner of this tie will face the winner of the matchup between Albania’s Egnatia and Slovenia’s Celje in the next round.
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