Barnabas Varga goal puts Hungary in stronger position in battle for World Cup qualification
Hungary’s Barnabas Varga celebrates with Dominik Szoboszlai after scoring against Armenia. Photo: Reuters
Barnabas Varga’s towering header fired Hungary to a vital 1-0 win in Armenia, as they consolidated their position in second spot in World Cup qualifying Group F.
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was the inspiration behind Hungary’s second win in this qualifying group, with his fizzing cross after 33 minutes met by a fine header by Varga in what proved to be the decisive moment of the match.
Varga, who is working under Ireland’s all-time record goalscorer Robbie Keane at Ferencvaros, scored Hungary’s first goal of this World Cup qualifying push, as he opened the scoring against the Ireland in Dublin last September.
He then scored twice in his nation’s 3-2 defeat against Portugal last month, with this latest goal giving Hungary an edgy win at a venue that is proving to be tough for most visiting teams.
This was not a convincing performance from Marco Rossi’s Hungary side, but victory was all that mattered on a night when tension was in the air in Yerevan.
The second half was a cagey affair, with Szoboszlai coming close to giving Hungary some breathing space after an hour, Armenia centre-back Sergey Muradyan denying him when he had the goal at his mercy.
Varga then set up Alex Toth, who narrowly missed the target when he looked certain to score.
Armenia had their chance to punish Hungary in the closing stages, as Nair Tiknizyan found himself in space with just keeper Patrik Demjen to beat, but he failed to make the most of the opportunity.
There was to be one final opportunity for the home side to snatch a draw, but Arayik Eloyan failed to connect with the ball when he had a chance to test keeper Demjen.
Hungary finished the match after recording 14 efforts on goal compared to just five from Armenia, with their coach Rossi disappointed by his side’s second half efforts.
Portugal’s 5-0 win in Yerevan at the start of this qualifying group has proved to be the one big victory record against the Group F outsiders, with Ireland’s miserable 2-1 defeat against Armenia the high point of their campaign.
Armenia will now travel to face Portugal in their final game on Sunday, with Hungary set to welcome Ireland to Budapest.
