Armenia lost to Belarus 1-3 in their first international friendly this season on Wednesday. The game was played on neutral ground in Turkish Antalya.

Led by newly appointed head coach Vardan Minasyan, the national team missed a few good chances to score before conceding a goal in the 58th minute. A minute later Armenia’s second half substitution Ararat Melkonyan set up Levon Pachajyan for an equalizer as the latter was first on the Belarus goalkeeper rebound to net the ball home.

A quarter of an hour later a Melkonyan error let Belarus midfielder Aleksandr Hleb have the ball near the Armenian goal and hit from close range to give his team a lead. Hleb was also instrumental in Belarus’s third goal in the 84th minute as he found a partner in the Armenia penalty area with a clinically executed pass.

Armenia will not engage in official matches until autumn. Its head coach said recently he hopes to increase competition within the team to achieve better performance and result.

Armenia’s opponents in UEFA Euro-2012 qualifying Group B are Russia, Slovakia, the Republic of Ireland, Macedonia and Andorra. The federations of the six nations will meet in Russian capital Moscow in mid-March to decide on the schedule of the games to be played September 2010 through November 2011. (Source: www.ffa.am)

Meanwhile, Armenia’s U-21 scored another victory against the Republic of Ireland, this time as visitors. Levon Hayrapetyan and Gevorg Ghazaryan first half goals gave Armenia a 2-1 victory over the home side. In the first-leg fixture in Yerevan in November Armenia beat the Irish 4-1.

Read the full SkySports report on Rep. Ireland v Armenia.