The football players of "Ahal" defeated Ashgabat's "Kopetdag" with a score of 3-1 in a rescheduled match of the 24th round of the Turkmenistan Championship among top league clubs.
The game was held at the capital's stadium "Nisa".
Before this match, both teams were located next to each other in the tournament table, with "Ahal" in fifth place and "Kopetdag" trailing behind by one point in sixth place. At the same time, the team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan had only theoretical chances of winning the bronze medals.
It is quite clear that the tournament position obliged both clubs to play for victory. As events on the field showed, "Ahal" was more determined to fight. By the 32nd minute, the former champion of Turkmenistan had already won 2:0 thanks to a double by Begench Mamiev, who opened the score on 16 minutes. In the 34th minute, Serdar Geldiyev's wards could have further developed their success by earning a penalty. However, Gurban Annayev hit the crossbar from the penalty spot.
In the 75th minute, Gurbanmukhamet Esenov extended the lead to 3-0.
In the third penalty minute, "Kopetdag" scored one goal thanks to the efforts of Batyr Tachnazarov and remained in the minority because of the suspension of Ilyas Charyev. But this did not affect the outcome of the match.
After this victory, "Ahal" climbed to the fourth position in the standings with 32 points, keeping their chances for the bronze medal. "Ashgabat" dropped to fifth place with 30 points. And "Kopetdag", which lost its last chance for the bronze medal, remained in sixth position.
