YEREVAN (Interstat) — Iasonas Pikis scored three goals and Pyunik Yerevan defeated visiting Ararat 6-2 on Tuesday at Junior Sport Stadium in a match that turned on Pyunik’s finishing and Pikis’s hat trick. Pyunik moved to 1-0 in the competition and 8-0-4 across all competitions, while Ararat dropped to 0-1 in the competition and 4-8-3 overall. The home side set the tone early and never let Ararat build sustained momentum, answering the visitor’s two second-half goals with a composed close to the game. Pyunik’s victory followed a 2-0 win at Ararat in their most recent head-to-head meeting earlier this season.

Pyunik opened the scoring in the 5th minute when Iman Griffith found the net. Pikis doubled the lead in the 20th minute and added another in the 33rd, sending Pyunik into halftime with a 3-0 advantage. The early goals forced Ararat to chase the game, and Pyunik’s pressure produced repeated chances before the break. Ararat could not find a response in the first half, and Pyunik’s midfield kept the visitors from settling into possession. The home side’s lead reflected its sharper play in the final third and its ability to convert chances at key moments.

The second half brought more of the same before Ararat found brief hope. Gevorg Tarakhchyan scored in the 55th minute, and Pikis completed his hat trick in the 58th to make it 5-0. Divine Ukadike pulled one back for Ararat in the 62nd minute, but Edgar Malakyan restored Pyunik’s six-goal cushion in the 69th. Patrick Handzongo scored Ararat’s second in the 80th minute, closing the scoring on a afternoon when Pyunik’s attack proved too deep and too precise for the visitors. Ararat’s goals came late enough to interrupt the shutout bid but not enough to change the outcome.

Ukadike and Handzongo each scored once for Ararat, while Griffith, Pikis, Tarakhchyan and Malakyan scored for Pyunik. Pikis’s three-goal performance headlined the home attack, and Griffith, Tarakhchyan and Malakyan each added a goal as Pyunik spread the scoring across the match. Ararat’s goal scorers made the most of their chances, but the visitors could not match Pyunik’s pace or finishing over the full match. Pyunik’s attacking depth was evident as four different players scored, with Pikis leading the way.

Ararat entered the match after a 2-1 loss at Van FA and had also drawn with Shirak Gyumri and at Urartu FA in recent competition play. Pyunik, meanwhile, had beaten FC Gandzasar 3-0 and had drawn at Noah and at Alashkert in its previous competition matches. Those results framed a matchup between a Pyunik side in strong overall form and an Ararat team still seeking consistency. Pyunik’s overall record stands at eight wins, no losses and four draws, while Ararat’s overall record is four wins, eight losses and three draws. Pyunik is next scheduled to host Urartu FA in league play, while Ararat is next scheduled to host Alashkert.

Ararat’s competition ledger also includes a 2-2 draw at Urartu FA, a 4-0 loss to Ararat-Armenia, a 1-0 win at Syunik, a 0-0 draw with Syunik and a 2-0 win at Gandzasar FA. Pyunik has also beaten BKMA 5-0, drawn 3-3 at Alashkert, beaten Shirak Gyumri 2-0, beaten Sardarapat 4-2, drawn 0-0 at Syunik, beaten Ararat-Armenia 2-1 and beaten Van FA 3-0 in competition play.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Pyunik Yerevan 2, Ararat 0. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Pyunik Yerevan with a 94.1 percent probability to win. Pyunik Yerevan had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 8 went under the over/under line of 2.5.