The «Arkadag» footballers made a strong bid to reach the quarterfinals of the AFC Challenge League, having won their second consecutive victory in the third most important Asian club tournament.

After winning the first round over the Maldivian club «Maziya Sports and Recreation» – 2:1, Vladimir Bayramov’s team beat the Kyrgyz «Abdysh-Ata» – 2:0 and with 6 points led the tournament table in Group «B», in which four teams are fighting for a place in the playoffs in Kuwait, including Kuwaiti «Al-Arabi».

The first half of the two-time champions of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan was a quiet struggle with rare scoring opportunities.

The first dangerous moment at the gates of Abdysh-Ata arose in the 6^th minute, when Arslanmyrat Amanov gave a great through ball to Altymyrat Annadurdyyev. However, he shot straight at goalkeeper Marsel Islamkulov.

And yet, the teams went into the break with the score 1:0 in favour of «Arkadag». In the 27^th minute, Altymyrat Annadurdyyev ran away from the defender along the left edge, made a pass into the opponent's penalty area. «Abdysh-Ata» defender Magamed Uzdenov was unable to get the ball out of his zone, and Shamammet Hydyrov, who happened to be there, sent it into the net past the goalkeeper who rushed to intercept.

«Arkadag» doubled its advantage in the 49^th minute after Arslanmyrat Amanov from the right edge passed a corner to Abdy Bashimov, who sent the ball into the net with a swing.

In the middle of the second half, «Abdysh-Ata» could have reduced the gap in the score. However, the footballer of the national team of Turkmenistan Teymur Charyyev, who plays for this Kyrgyz club, shot over the goal.

In another match of the 2^nd round, the Kuwaiti club «Al-Arabi» won against Maziya Sports and Recreation (Maldives) – 2:0. The goals were scored by: Youssef Majed (7^th minute) and Ali Khalaf (8^th).

Before the last round, «Abdysh-Ata» and «Al-Arabi», who share second and third places, are 3 points behind «Arkadag». «Maziya Sports and Recreation», which has already lost its chance to make it to the playoffs and has no points, is at the bottom of the standings. Who from this group will make it to the quarterfinals will be determined based on the results of the final matches: «Al-Arabi» vs. «Arkadag» and «Maziya Sports and Recreation» vs. «Abdysh-Ata».

As a reminder, the AFC Challenge League trophy is contested by 18 clubs, divided geographically into 2 zones - Western and Eastern. The matches in five groups are held in a centralized format, in which each team meets its opponents once.

Eight teams will advance to the quarter-finals following the group stage: the three group winners and the best second-placed team from West Asia, and the top two teams from each group in East Asia. The playoffs will be held in March 2025 in a «home-and-away» format.