The 4th round of the AFC Champions League Two™ 2025/26 group stage ended in draws for the Turkmen football clubs Arkadag and Ahal, The Golden age electronic newspaper reports.
The current champion of Turkmenistan, playing in Group B, hosted Al Ahli SC, who finished fourth in the Qatar Stars League (top division) last season, at the Arkadag Stadium, with the support of 10 thousand spectators.
FC Arkadag launched an attacking attack from the very first minutes. However, experienced Al Ahli SC soon seized the initiative and opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. The goal was scored by 28-year-old Dutch international Michel Vlap, known for his time with Belgian side Anderlecht and Dutch side FC Twente, who fired a well-placed shot from under the foot of Velmyrat Ballakov into the far bottom corner of the goal.
FC Arkadag escaped defeat thanks to an own goal in the 26th minute by 31-year-old Croatian legionnaire Matej Mitrovic, who headed the ball into his own net after a cross from the right flank by Arzuvguly Sapargulyyev.
The second half saw a significant advantage for FC Arkadag, who exerted considerable effort to snatch victory. However, the visitors managed to hold on for a 1-1 draw.
In another match held simultaneously in Arad, Bahrain, the local Al Khaldiya SC played to a 0:0 draw with Uzbek PFC Andijon at the Al Muharraq Stadium in front of 244 spectators.
After these matches, the standings look like this: Al Ahli SC has 7 points after 5 games, Al Khaldiya SC has 6 points after 5 games, PFC Andijon has 4 points after 4 games and FC Arkadag has 3 points after 4 games. Despite dropping 2 points in the game against Al Ahli SC, FC Arkadag still has a chance to reach the playoffs.
As a reminder, the top two teams from the group stage will advance to the round of 16. FC Arkadag will play its next match away against PFC Andijon on the 26th of November and will host Al Khaldiya SC in the final round on the 24th of December at its home stadium.
Another Ahal FC of Turkmenistan faced Islamic Republic of Iran’s Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC in Isfahan in the fourth round of Group C. The game, officiated by FIFA referee Razlan Joffri Ali from Malaysia, took place at the Naghsh-e-Jahan Stadium in front of 8050 spectators.
After conceding a quick goal in the 9th minute following a precise shot from inside the penalty area by Arash Rezavand, men of Velsahet Ovezov remained unfazed and tied the score at 1-1 before the break. In the 27th minute, Alibek Abdurahmanov intercepted an unsuccessful cross-ball from the Iranians, broke past a defender into the opposing penalty area, and delivered a superb pass to Suleyman Mirzoyev, who had no choice but to fire the ball into the net.
Midway through the second half, Ahal took a 2-1 lead. In the 62nd minute, Turkmen captain Elman Tagayev delivered a perfect free kick to Bagtyyar Gurgenov, who headed the ball past goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini.
In the 65th minute, the referee sent off Azat Rahmanov, who received a second yellow card for a foul on Spanish international Ivan Sanchez. But even after this, remaining in the minority, Ahal fought hard against their experienced opponents, hoping to hold on to the lead that would give the Turkmen club a chance to advance to the playoffs.
With the score 2-1 in favour of the visitors, the referee added six minutes of added time to the second half. However, with 11 seconds remaining in stoppage time, Mohammad Askari capitalized on a superb cross from Aria Yousefi from the right flank and fired a precise shot into the top corner of the goal to save Sepahan from defeat.
As of today, the situation in Group C is as follows: Jordanian champion Al Hussein is in the lead with 6 points, Iranian Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC has 4 points, and Ahal FC has 1 point.
There are two games left to play in this group: Sepahan – Al Hussein on the 25th of November and Al Hussein – Ahal on the 23rd of December.
