The players of "Arkadag" achieved two wins as reigning champions.
In a rescheduled match of the 29th round of the national top league championship, Vladimir Bayramov's team defeated "Ahal" 2-1. The game took place at the Nisa Stadium in the capital.
This match held no tournament significance for "Arkadag", who secured the Turkmenistan championship title for the second consecutive year five rounds before the end of the national championship. However, for "Ahal", competing for silver medals, a win could have put them 3 points ahead of another contender for vice-championship, "Altyn Asyr".
The first half brought no success to either team. As soon as the second half began, the reigning champion was awarded a penalty, which Begench Akmammedov converted in the 47th minute. Scoring his 16th goal in this national championship, he entered the top three scorers.
In the 90th minute, "Ahal" equalized with a goal by Yagshysakhet Dovletgeldiyev and seemed poised to end "Arkadag's" winning streak. But it was not to be. In the 4th minute of added time, Shamammet Khydyrov scored a second goal against "Ahal", securing a 2-1 victory for his team.
This victory marked "Arkadag's" 50th in the top league since the football club was founded last year and their 26th in the current national championship. In 26 matches, the team scored 126 goals and conceded 19, leading their closest pursuers—"Altyn Asyr" and "Ahal"—by 26 points.
"Arkadag's" second victory as a two-time champion of Turkmenistan came in Dubai in a friendly match against UAE club "Al Hamriyah" with a score of 2-1 as part of preparations for the AFC Challenge League 2024/25—the third most significant Asian club tournament, featuring 18 teams divided geographically into Western and Eastern zones. Goals by Arslanmyrat Amanov (70th minute) and Shanazar Tirkishov (90+2) secured victory for our team.
According to the draw results of the AFC Challenge League 2024/25, FC "Arkadag" is in Group B with "Maziya Sports and Recreation" from Maldives, "Abdysh-Ata" from Kyrgyzstan, and "Al-Arabi" from Kuwait. All matches will take place in Kuwait. Arkadag will play their first match on October 26 against "Maziya". Then, they will face "Abdysh-Ata" on October 29 and conclude their group stage on November 1 against "Al-Arabi".
At the end of the group stage, eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals: three group winners and the best runner-up in the Western zone, as well as two best teams from each group in the Eastern zone.
