The 5th round of the Turkmenistan Football Championship concluded with three matches in Ashgabat, Mary and Akhal velayat.
The most anticipated game took place in the Babarap gengeshlik of Gokdepe etrap of Akhal velayat, where "Akhal" faced the runner-up of the AFC Cup 2018 and the current vice-champion of the country, "Altyn Asyr".
The fate of the match was decided in the first half when "Altyn Asyr" scored two unanswered goals against "Akhal". Both goals were scored by Selim Nurmuradov in the 26th and 38th minutes.
With a 2-0 victory, "Altyn Asyr" secured 6 points and moved up to the sixth position. Meanwhile, "Akhal" suffered their second consecutive defeat, missing the chance to catch up with the leader, "Arkadag", who has 12 points. The team from the Main Department of "Turkmennebitonumleri" has 9 points and is currently in third place. The same number of points was earned by "Merv" from Mary and "Shagadam" from Turkmenbashi after this round.
"Merv" won the Mary derby against "Energetik" with a goal by Kemal Annamukhamedov in the 56th minute, securing a 1-0 victory on the opponent's field. "Shagadam" defeated "Kopetdag" in Ashgabat with a convincing score of 4-1. The scorers for the winning team were Rovshen Baylyev (10th minute), Mekan Ashyrov (29th - penalty), Arslan Yollyev (45th), and Hydyrgeldi Atjanov (54th).
After these matches, both "Kopetdag" and "Energetik" extended their winless streak to four games, occupying the bottom two positions in the league table with 2 and 1 points respectively.
In the top scorers' race, Altymyrat Annadurdyev from "Arkadag" maintains the lead with 6 goals. His teammate Arslanmyrat Amanov is in second place with 4 goals (1 from a penalty). The third position is shared by Begench Akmammedov ("Arkadag"), Alibek Abdyrakhmanov and Yazgylych Gurbanov (both from "Akhal"), and Selim Nurmyradov ("Altyn Asyr"), all with 3 goals each.
In the 6th round, which will take place on April 6, the following matches will be played: "Shagadam" vs "Energetik", "Arkadag" vs "Kopetdag", "Altyn Asyr" vs "Ashgabat", and "Nebitchi" vs "Akhal".
