Victory over Armenia is essential for Stephen Kenny's Ireland

Republic of Ireland Press Conference, Republican Stadium, Yervan, Armenia 3/6/2022

After Andorra and Azerbaijan comes another must-win game in Armenia.

The difference from the two previous victories is this version presents Stephen Kenny the chance of turbocharging Ireland with Triple A batteries onto better things.

Thursday marked the first anniversary of Kenny’s first win as senior manager in Andorra.

An end-of-season friendly in the Pyrenees was only relevant for ridding the boss of his 10-match winless start at the helm, albeit they had to be jolted by falling behind to the minnows.

Azerbaijan in October was another milestone for its importance in the manager’s survival and revival.

His Ireland side were as insipid in the drawn game against the Azeris at home as the defeat to Luxembourg and the diminishing lives left him no margin of error in Baku.

Three goals and three points, followed by a replica in Luxembourg the following month, rescued third place in the group and had the manager purring about the next competitive campaign.

Top spot in the Nations League was the stated priority to accrue multiple benefits, most prominently a guaranteed berth in the playoff series for Euro 2024 qualification.

Ireland have had just the two friendlies during the interim – the March run-out against Belgium and Lithuania – before tackling this latest task, front-loaded by four fixtures over 11 days.

It was only from the passing of time that Kenny admits that nothing except victory in the Azeris would suffice but equally imperative, to achieve his own target, is extracting the same in Yerevan. To stand any hope of edging Ukraine and Scotland for group supremacy, daubing their fingerprints on the table with a win over the bottom seeds is paramount.

Armenia are the newcomers of League B, rewarded for beating Georgia and North Macedonia to promotion two years ago. That they lost 5-0 to the latter in the subsequent World Cup qualifiers and have seen their best player, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, recently retire illustrates their struggle to sustain that progress. They languish 92nd in Fifa’s rankings, a plummet from 2014 when their Mkhitaryan-inspired side rose to 30.

Rocked by the 9-0 friendly defeat to Norway in March, a humiliation their Spanish manager Joaquin Caparros didn’t like being reminded about by Irish media yesterday, the team from the Caucasus are there for the taking in their backyard.

Kenny’s selection will supply a clue as to his propensity for nailing a fast start to his summit mission.

Josh Cullen’s availability following confusion over a suspension that never actually was brings to seven the number of predictable starters. Excellence in attack by Callum Robinson and Chiedozie Ogbene over the eight-match unbeaten run solidifies their spot but the third arm of the attack is angling towards Troy Parrott rather than Jason Knight.

Strangely, for someone who bagged a last-gasp winner in the most recent game against Lithuania, Parrott’s name has been floated during the press exchanges. His strong finish to the season, including a classic finish in the playoff semi-final for on-loan club MK Dons, elevates him front of the queue for the nod.

Of the three-pronged unit at the back, Nathan Collins should shade Dara O’Shea to line up alongside Shane Duffy and John Egan, while judging by yesterday’s training set-up, the left wing-back jersey will belong to Enda Stevens over James McClean.

That leaves the only uncertainty surrounding the goalkeeping position. Twice in the past fortnight, Kenny has confessed to the dilemma he faces on that front. A slight back problem for Gavin Bazunu was being downplayed but don’t be surprised if Caoimhín Kelleher usurps him by starting for the third game on the spin.

History and heat have dominated the build-up, with Kenny offering Covid-19 mitigation to his unwelcome part in the 10-match streak Ireland have racked up without winning Uefa’s Nations League.

Armenia’s past story they can’t let go of is the injustice felt from the last of only two meetings with Ireland.

Both teams were in the mix to seal a Euro 2012 playoff but the shootout in Dublin swung Ireland’s way from a contentious decision to send off goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky for handball outside his box when clearly the ball hit his chest instead.

"All the players and all Armenians remember the game back in 2011,” mused Varazdat Haroyan, the new captain who was a non-playing member of the squad then. "We have lots of motivation for getting a result against Ireland.” 

Temperatures rising in the air and between the camps makes for a feisty feel to this one. The onus is on Kenny to remain cool to avoid the heat accompanying back to Ireland.