The second most important national club trophy, the Turkmenistan Football Cup, will be contested today in the final by “Arkadag” and “Ahal”.
In the first semifinal, “Arkadag” defeated “Ashgabat” twice: 3–1 in the first away match and 4–1 in the return home game, in which Didar Durdyyev scored a brace for the winners (21st and 86th minutes), while Ahmet Atayev (45+1) and Diyargylych Orazov (88th) added one goal each. For the defeated side, the goal was scored by Mergen Nurlyyev (37th).
In the other semifinal, “Ahal” defeated “Shagadam” on aggregate, 3–2. In the first match in Turkmenbashi, the Caspian coast team snatched a 2–1 victory in the 86th minute. In the return leg, “Ahal” took revenge with a 2–0 win thanks to accurate strikes by Bagtyyar Gurgenev (35th minute) and Akmamet Metdayev (49th).
For “Ahal”, the upcoming Turkmenistan Cup final will be the ninth in the tournament’s history. Previously, “Ahal” won this trophy four times, and on all four occasions the team of the Main Directorate “Turkmennebitonumleri” was led to success by different coaches. In 2013, under the guidance of Honored Coach of Turkmenistan Ali Gurbani, the club’s players defeated “Altyn Asyr” in the decisive match, 2–1. In 2014, they repeated this success under head coach Guvanchmuhamet Ovekov, defeating “Balkan” 3–2 in the final.
“Ahal” won the Turkmenistan Cup for the third time in 2017, securing a convincing 4–0 victory over “Shagadam” under head coach Rovshen Meredov. In 2022, the same teams met again in the final, in which “Ahal” won by an even larger margin, 5–0. The club was led to its fourth Turkmenistan Cup triumph by head coach Mergen Orazov.
For FC “Arkadag”, founded in April 2023 and representing the city of national significance of the same name, this will be the third consecutive final. In the previous two finals, the team defeated “Ahal” 3–0 and 1–0.
This year, “Arkadag” and “Ahal” have already played each other five times. In all five matches, “Arkadag” emerged victorious: in the Turkmenistan championship — 3–1, 3–0, 4–1 and 1–0 — and in the Turkmenistan Super Cup match — 3–0.
The Turkmenistan Cup final will be held in Arkadag for the second time in history.
The main referee for the match has been appointed Berdimamet Atdyyev from Arkadag. He will be assisted on the lines by Ikhlas Kurambayev from Dashoguz and Yusup Jumamyradov from Ashgabat. The reserve referee is Eziz Yazmyradov (Ashgabat). The work of the refereeing team will be assessed by match inspector, former well-known referee Begench Allaberdiyev (Ashgabat). The duties of match commissioner will be carried out by Yenish Nazzyev (Mary).
