The football players of "Arkadag" earned their first point in the AFC Champions League Two by drawing 0-0 in the opening match of Group "B" against the Uzbek team "Andijon."
The game took place at a fully packed stadium in the city of Arkadag, which has a capacity of 10,000 spectators.
Both "Arkadag" and "Andijon" are newcomers to the AFC Champions League Two. "Arkadag" is participating for the first time in Asia's second most important club competition, entering as the winner of the AFC Challenge League 2024/25 (the third-ranked tournament in Asia). "Andijon" last year won the Uzbekistan Cup for the first time in their history, which earned them the right to participate in the AFC Champions League Two. As of today, "Arkadag" confidently leads the Turkmenistan championship with a 100% point record, while "Andijon," coached by 47-year-old former well-known player of Kyiv's "Dynamo" Maksim Shatskikh, is currently placed 11th out of 16 teams in the Uzbekistan Super League after 20 matches.
With the opening whistle by Singaporean referee Ahmad A’Qashah bin Ahmad Al’Badowe, the visitors rushed into attack and already in the 39th second could have opened the score. However, Ismahil Akinade, a 31-year-old Nigerian legionnaire playing for "Andijon," headed the ball over the goal, following a cross from the right flank. In the 6th minute, the same player did send the ball into the "Arkadag" net, but the goal was disallowed due to offside.
The home team responded with free-kick shots by Arzuvguly Sapargulyyev and Shanazar Tirkishov, but they did not seriously trouble goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotaev.
Gradually, the game settled into a calm rhythm. Both teams tried to find the "keys" to each other's goal, but no real threats developed. In the first half, "Arkadag" had a notable header by their top scorer in the Turkmenistan championship Didar Durdyyev and a long-range shot by Ahmet Atayev, while "Andijon" had dangerous shots from Shahzod Azmiddinov and Doniyor Abdumannopov.
After the break, the pattern of the game remained unchanged. In the 50th minute, Shanazar Tirkishov tested the opponent's goalkeeper from close range, and near the hour mark, Krystian Nowak failed to score for the visitors, heading the ball wide of the goal.
The last 10 minutes of the match were dominated by the attacks of the Turkmenistan champions, with substitute Shamammet Hydyrov having a chance to score, but his low shot was stopped by Erzhan Tokotaev.
In another Group "B" match, Qatar's "Al-Ahli" and Bahrain's "Al-Khalidiya" also played to a 0-0 draw in Doha.
Thus, after the first round, all four teams in the group have earned 1 point each.
"Arkadag" will play their next AFC Champions League Two match on October 1 in Bahrain against "Al-Khalidiya." On the same day, in another Group "B" match in Uzbekistan, "Andijon" will face Qatar's "Al-Ahli."
It is worth noting that the current group stage of the AFC Champions League Two, formerly called the AFC Cup, features 32 teams from 22 countries, divided geographically into two zones – West and East.
In the Round of 16, with matches scheduled from February 10 to 19, 2026, the top two teams from each group will advance. Quarter-finals will be held from March 3 to 12, semi-finals from April 7 to 15, and the final on May 16, 2026.
