Armenia v Scotland: Ian Porterfield & Republic of Ireland warnings for Steve Clarke's side

Many people know that Ian Porterfield is a legend on Wearside for his exploits across a decade in the red and white of Sunderland.

The Fifer's crowning glory came when he scored the winning goal in the 1973 FA Cup final against Don Revie's celebrated Leeds United side at Wembley.

What people may not know is that the former Aberdeen manager is something of a legend in Armenia.

Porterfield died in September 2007 after suffering from colon cancer that was being treated in the Armenian capital as he continued to work as their national coach in the weeks leading up to his death.

It is testament to the man who replaced Sir Alex Ferguson at Pittodrie that, in the final match in which he was in charge, his minnows stubbornly held a star-studded Portugal side to a 1-1 draw.

Cristiano Ronaldo scrambled an equaliser for the visitors in the Euro 2008 qualifier while flanked by the likes of Deco, Raul Meireles, Simao, Tiago and Helder Postiga.

The Raith Rovers Hall of Fame inductee had masterminded his latest result against the odds, having led the Armenians to a famous 1-0 victory over Poland less than three months earlier.

Porterfield would succumb to cancer just 20 days after frustrating Ronaldo in Yerevan. A nation mourned the loss of a man who hadn't been with them for very long but who had left a lasting impression.

He would have enjoyed the current Armenia side's Nations League opener. Their 1-0 upset of Republic of Ireland demonstrated that they are not to be underestimated on home soil, in contrast to their recent toils on the road.

Scotland really should have won by more than two goals in a one-sided contest at Hampden last week and Ukraine fired in three on Saturday in Poland, while the side ranked 92nd in the world suffered a humiliating 9-0 battering in Norway in March after an early red card.

However, just five days before that traumatic trip to Olso, Armenia beat Montenegro 1-0 in Yerevan. In topping a Nations League C group ahead of North Macedonia, Georgia and Estonia in 2020, they were unbeaten at home, winning twice and drawing the other.

In Glasgow, Armenia were only interested in damage limitation, seldom shifting from their ultra-defensive shape. That approach may not change much, since they were happy to sit back against the Irish, with just 32% possession - only slightly less than they had at Hampden (29%).

The big difference was efforts on goal, with 10 against the Republic compared to four away to Scotland - and none of those remotely troubled Craig Gordon.

The Armenians actually found the net with two very good finishes against Stephen Kenny's side - the first was ruled out for offside - but what proved to be the winner was a superbly taken strike by Krasnodar midfielder Eduard Spertsyan, albeit he ran a long way unchallenged before smashing the ball home from distance.

It was symptomatic of how the Irish fell out of the game in temperatures topping 30C, having earlier spurned good chances.

With Roma's Henrikh Mkhitaryan announcing his international retirement in March, 22-year-old Spertsyan is their main threat. He has Champions League experience with his club and clocked up 24 appearances in the Russian Premier League this season.

They also have Sargis Adamyan, the Hoffenheim striker, Slovan Bratislava midfielder and penalty-taker Tigran Bareseghyan, while captain Varazdat Haroyan of Cadiz showed at Hampden he is a centre-half of the uncompromising variety.

Three of those four were missing in the loss to Ukraine as Spanish head coach Joaquin Caparros made a whopping eight changes three days on from the Hampden game. That may well suggest that the main focus is on aiming for back-to-back upsets in the heat of Yerevan.

Scotland are smarting from a crushing 3-0 defeat in Dublin, with head coach Steve Clarke moved to deliver an uncharacteristic "must-win" verdict. His players responded well to a disappointing World Cup semi-final play-off against Ukraine to dominate Armenia last week, so can they bounce back again so quickly after a 2500-mile trip across three time zones?

Armenia have never made it to a major tournament, their best attempt being in Euro 2012 qualifying, when they won five of their 10 games but ultimately finishing six points behind group winners Russia and four off Ireland.

However, there is enough in their last 15 years of playing at this level to suggest that more inferior teams have taken points off the Scots in that time.