Footballers of "Arkadag" and "Ahal" will meet in the decisive match for the second most important club trophy — the Turkmenistan Cup. This was determined according to the results of the semi-final matches.
In the first semi-final, "Arkadag" twice defeated Balkanabat's "Nebitchi": 7:2 in the first away game and 5:2 in the return home match, in which Enver Annaev (4th minute), Begmurad Bayev (24th), Begench Akmamedov (30th), Didar Durdyev (86th) and Nazar Tovakelov (89th), and the defeated — Ysmayl Serdarov (62nd) and Shohrat Aydogdyev (81st).
In the other semi-final, the winner was declared to be "Ahal", who were awarded a technical victory with a score of 3:0 in both matches with "Altyn Asyr".
For "Ahal", the upcoming Turkmenistan Cup final will be the eighth in the history of the tournament. Previously, "Ahal" won this trophy four times and all four times the team of the Main Directorate of "Turkmennebitonumleri" was led to this success by different coaches. In 2013, under the leadership of the Honored Coach of Turkmenistan Ali Gurbani, the football players of this club won the decisive match against "Altyn Asyr" — 2:1. In 2014, they repeated this success, but already with the head coach Guvanchmuhamed Ovekov, having won the final against "Balkan" – 3:2.
"Ahal" won the Turkmenistan Cup for the third time in 2017, winning a major victory under the leadership of head coach Rovshan Meredov over "Shagadam" – 4:0. In 2022, the same teams met again in the final, in which "Ahal" won with a larger score – 5:0. Head coach Mergen Orazov led this club to its fourth victory in the Turkmenistan Cup.
For "Arkadag", which was formed in April 2023 and represents the city of the same name of national importance, this will be second final. Last year, this team won the Turkmenistan Cup, winning a convincing 3-0 victory in the final over two-time AFC Champions League participant "Ahal".
This year, "Arkadag" and "Ahal" have already played between each other five times. And "Arkadag" won all five matches: in the Turkmenistan Championship – 4:1, 4:0, 5:1, 2:1 and in the match for the Turkmenistan Super Cup – 3:1.
The final match for the 2024 Turkmenistan Cup will take place on the 23rd of December at the central arena of the "Ashgabat" multifunctional stadium.
