Heimir Hallgrimsson's side travelled to Yerevan after recovering from a two-goal deficit to take a point from their game against Hungary
World Cup qualifying Group F: Armenia v Republic of Ireland
Venue: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium Date: Tuesday, 9 September Kick-off: 17:00 BST
Coverage: Live text commentary and report on BBC Sport website and app
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says his side need to play to their optimum from the start of Tuesday's World Cup Group F qualifier against Armenia in Yerevan.
The Irish recovered from conceding two goals inside the opening 15 minutes of their opening qualifying game against Hungary on Saturday to salvage a 2-2 draw.
In eight of Hallgrimsson's nine competitive games in charge, the Republic have conceded the opening goal and on four occasions now - against Hungary, England, Finland and Bulgaria - have fallen behind inside the opening 20 minutes.
Tuesday's encounter is set to be played in energy-sapping temperatures in excess of 30C.
"Obviously, they will have more power in the beginning, I would guess, with an extra day to recover [rather than travelling]," said Hallgrimsson at his pre-match media conference.
"We've conceded early goals in three games of late and they probably fancy their chances in the beginning, so we need to be ready from kick-off."
Barnabas Varga and Roland Sallai scored to put Hungary two ahead at Aviva Stadium at the weekend but Evan Ferguson's strike and, after Sallai had been sent off, Adam Idah's equaliser, rescued a point.
"It was a really good effort, really good character - that's what we take from the last game into this one," the Republic boss told reporters.
"It's kind of what you decide to take from it. Is the glass half-empty or is the glass half-full?
"We will obviously address some of the things that we didn't do well, but from the 30th minute I think we more or less controlled the game. If we can keep on playing like we did from minute 30, I would be happy."
- Published2 days ago
- Published2 days ago
The Irish have met Armenia four times and each encounter has been decided by a one-goal margin.
The Republic beat the Armenians home and away during their qualification campaign for Euro 2012 but lost 1-0 on their last visit to Yerevan in June 2022 and required a late Robbie Brady penalty to secure a 3-2 win in the reverse Nations League fixture after the hosts squandered a 2-0 lead in Dublin.
Yeghishe Melikyan's side have slipped to 105th in the world rankings and were defeated 5-0 by Portugal in their campaign opener on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice.
"They are a fast counter-attacking team, whose biggest strength is in transition," observed Hallgrimsson.
"We need to be as good as we were second half against Hungary in defence, don't give them spaces when they win the ball and try to win it back as quickly as possible."
Midfielder Josh Cullen is one of four players in the present squad who was part of the group which tasted defeat at the Republic Stadium three years ago.
"It hurt at the time and of course it hurts losing any game for your country," said Cullen.
"But we're in a new era now, we have a new mindset as a team, and we're just looking forward to getting back out there and building on what the manager said was a positive second half [against Hungary].
"The group are experienced enough to know that any game at this level now can't be taken for granted and we're going to have to be fully focused and ready to go."
