October 22, 2024
In mid-September these diaries covered a first-round match in the AFC Champions League Two between Lee Man of Hong Kong and Nam Dinh from Vietnam. Today saw the start of round 3 of the competition, so it was appropriate to cover a game from the West region of AFC instead of the East, with a meeting of the champions of Tajikistan and Jordan.
FC Istikol
FC Istikol, or FC Istiqlol as they are sometimes written, have won the last ten Tajikistan Higher League championships, and twelve of the last fourteen.
These diaries have dipped its toes into the Tajikistan league on one occasion, with a review of round 3 of the 2023 competition, when Istikol were held to a 1-1 at Regar-TadAz and were grateful for a number of saves from national keeper Rustam Yatimov ( 45 caps ) to secure a point, after Manuchekhr Dzhalilov ( 52 caps ) had levelled the scores with a fantastic free-kick.
https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2023/04/review-2023-tajikistan-vysshaya-liga.html
Yatimov is now playing for Russian side Rostov and Dzhalilov missed this year’s Asian Cup Finals in Qatar after being diagnosed with cancer but was well enough to turn up and cheer on his country from the side lines, and is now back playing for Istikol.
Istikol went on to win the 2023 league title, finishing 9 points clear of runners-up Ravshan Kulob, losing just two games all season, both to Ravshan. Manuchekhr Dzhalilov scored nine goals, and his brother Alisher ( 28 caps ) found the net 13 times.
Istikol were founded in 2007, and the name translates as Independence. They have a decent record in AFC competitions, and were runners-up in the AFC Cup, the predecessor of the AFC Champions League Two, in 2015 & 2017.
This season the Tajikistan Higher League consists of 12 sides for a 22-game season. After 15 games, Istikol stood 8 points clear of Khujand, having played two games fewer. They had won 14 out of 15 games, but they lost 0-1 at home to Khujand.
Italian striker Francesco Margiotta has played for Venezia, Lausanne, Luzern and Melbourne Victory, Australian right-back Matthew Millar has played for St Mirren, Shrewsbury, Central Coast Mariners and MacArthur FC, and Ukrainian central defender Oleksiy Lurin has played for Uzbek sides Pakhtakor and Neftchi Fergana.
Japanese midfielder Keita Suzuki played two seasons in Montenegro for Podgorica, and Brazilian midfielder Murilo de Souza had a short spell with Ukrainian side Lviv. Serbian keeper Nikola Stosic was a youth player at Red Star Belgrade and has played in Uzbekistan for Buxoro. Bulgarian striker Dimitar Mitkov started his career at Ludogorets and has also played for CSKA Sofia 1948, Lokomotiv Sofia and Russian side Rostov.
Five of the Istikol squad played in the below Asia Cup match against Qatar, namely full backs Akhtam Nazorov ( 88 caps and has had sport spells in Bangladesh and Uzbekistan ) and Tabrezi Islomov ( 31 caps and has played for Narva Trans in Estonia ), midfielder Ehsan Panjshanbe, who has 49 caps and has played for Uzbek giants Navbahor, and Shervoni Mabatshoev ( 27 caps ), and forward Alisher Dzhalilov.
Of the other local players, keeper Mukhriddin Khasanov has two caps, midfielder Amirbek Dzhuraboev has 55 caps and has also played for Navbahor, and defender Sodikjon Kurbonov has won two caps.
Tajikistan National Side
Tajikistan are currently ranked 103 by FIFA but were one of the surprise packages in this year’s AFC Asian Cup Finals in Qatar. After a disappointing 0-0 draw with China and a controversial 0-1 defeat to host Qatar thanks to favourable refereeing for the host nation, as covered in these diaries,
https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2024/01/qatar-1-0-tajikistan-att-57460-2023-afc.html
they recovered to beat Lebanon 2-1 in their final group game to reach the knockout stages. UAE were then knocked out on penalties after a 1-1 draw, but they were eliminated 0-1 in the quarter finals after a closing fought encounter with Jordan.
Tajikistan were unable to overcome a poor start to their World Cup qualification campaign, and despite a 1-1 home draw with Saudi Arabia and a 3-0 win against Pakistan, 0-1 away defeats to Saudi Arabia and 0-3 to Jordan saw them eliminated.
Al-Wehdat SC
Al-Wehdat Sports Club were founded in 1956 and have won the Jordanian title 17 times.
The Jordanian Pro League consists of 12 teams and in 2023 Amman based Al-Faisaly won their 35th title. Al-Wehdat finished in third place, but won the Jordan FA Cup, beating Al-Hussein 2-1, to take Jordan’s second slot in the AFC Champions League Two.
Al-Wehdat are currently fourth in the 2024/25 league table after six games with a 4-2-0 record, two points behind leaders Al Hussein.
Home games are played at the King Abdullah II Stadium, which has a capacity of 13,265. Their nickname is The Green Giants.
The overseas players at Al-Wehdat are Malian centre-back Ichaka Diarra ( 1 cap ), striker Ousseynou Gueye from Senegal, Moroccan midfielder Marouane Afalah and Cameroonian forward Alain Akono.
Jordan internationals in their squad include keeper Abdallah Al-Fakhouri ( 8 caps ), captain and right wing-back Fares Shelbaieh ( 31 caps ), centre back Yousef Abu Al Jazar ( 3 caps ) and midfielder Mahmoud Shawkat ( 3 caps )
Midfielder Amer Jamous is one letter from being famous !
Jordan National Side
Jordan have had an outstanding year and have risen to 68th in the FIFA World Rankings. They started the year by reaching the final of the Asia Cup, where they lost 1-3 to host nation Qatar, whose three goals were all penalties. In the knockout rounds they had eliminated Iraq ( 3-2 ), Tajikistan ( 1-0 ) and South Korea ( 2-0 ). Yazan Al-Naimat scored four goals in the tournament and now plays for Al-Arabi in the Qatar Stars League.
In the World Cup Qualifiers, they topped their Second Round group with Saudi Arabia, beating Tajikistan 3-0 at home along the way. In round three they currently sit in second place after four games, with wins over Palestine ( A 3-1 ) and Oman ( H 4-0 ), a draw with Kuwait ( H 1-1 ) and a loss to South Korea ( H 0-2 )
AFC Champions League Two So Far
Istikol had lost their opening two group matches. First up, they slipped to a surprising 0-1 loss at home to UAE side Al Sharjah in front of 10,250 spectators at the Central Republic Stadium in Dushanbe, and then were then thumped 0-4 in Iran by Sepahan.
Al-Wehdat began with a 2-1 home victory over Sepahan in the Amman International Stadium before a crowd of 5,005, and then drew 2-2 in Sharjah.
Matchday Information
The distance between Amman and Dushanbe is nearly 4,000 km by road, which would take around 50 hours, assuming you were able to travel across Iraq, Iran and Turkmenistan. By air, a direct flight would take four and a half hours.
The match was being played in the 20,000 capacity Central Republic Stadium, which is also home to CSKA Pamir Dushanbe and the National Team.
On the form lines of the two prior group matches, Al-Wehdat looked to have the advantage but Bet365, who were live streaming the match, made Istikol narrow 27/20 favourites, with Al-Wehdat at 9/5 and the draw at 11/5. The match was also streamed live by onefootball.com and shown on the AFC Hub YouTube channel, all of which were without commentary.
The temperature on a dry day was 20 degrees at the 19:00 local kick-off time ( 15:00 UK )
Al-Wehdat made two changes from the side that started against Al-Sharjah, with defender Danial Afaneh and forward Baha Faisal ( 55 caps ) coming in for Diarra and Akono.
Istikol made five changes, with Stosic, Kurbonov, Nazarov, Mabatshoev and Mitkov replacing Khasanov, Islomov, Suzuki, Manuchekhr Dzahaliov and Margiotta, all of whom were on the bench
Al-Wehdat were in green shirts with white shorts and socks, whilst Istikol were in red and black stripped shorts, black shorts and red and black socks.
The referee and his assistants were from Iraq.
Match Report
Not much happened in the early stages of the game with Al-Wehdat generally keeping possession but without creating anything threatening.
In the second minute Shelbaieh attempted an overhead kick on edge of the Istikol area but completely missed his kick and the ball rolled to the Istikol keeper. Al-Wehdat won the first corner of the game in the 6th minute, and after two defensive headers to clear, the ball reached Semreen just outside the area, but falling backwards he could only volley high and well wide.
Dzhalilov won the first corner for Istikol in the 11th minute, but the delivery was poor and it was cleared at near post
Jamous received the first yellow card of the game in the 21st minute for a lunge on de Souza but the free kick was wasted.
We had to wait until the 26th minute for the game’s second attempt on goal but Shawkat’s 30 yard effort was barely worth the wait and went well over the bar.
Al-Wehdat were forced into an early substitution as Al Quza replaced the injured Khaled Khaldoon in the 30th minute, and the first genuine chance came a minute later but Faisal’s free-kick sailed over the defensive wall and was pushed away by Stosic diving to his right at the bottom of his post. The keeper dived on the loose ball, which had gone over the byline by at least a foot, and brought it back on to the pitch. The referee waved play on when Al-Wehdat should have been awarded a corner.
Faisal was shortly afterwards played into space inside on the left hand side of the Istikol area but his ball across goal was cleared by Larin. The visitors were enjoying a good spell and Semreen and Al Quza combined to win a corner, which was cleared.
Four minutes before half time Gueye took a left footed shot across goal from the right-hand side of area but it drifted a few feet wide.
Al-Wehdat received another yellow card when Abu Al Jazar tripped Dzhalilov just outside area the area. Although the Tajik players appealed for penalty, the referee got the decision correct ! Mitkov’s free-kick was straight at the Al-Wehdat keeper who made a routine save.
The half ended with a Shawkat corner for Al-Wehdat flying across the goalmouth and off for a goal kick, and then for Istikol, a Panshanbe cross was caught by keeper Al Fakhouri.
It was goalless at the break and there had been very little goalmouth action, with each side having just one side on target, both from free kicks. The statistics showed 61% possession for Al-Wehdat.
Three minutes into the second period Gueye exchanged passes with Faisal but although surrounded by defenders and falling to floor, he still managed to get a shot on target, but it lacked power and was at the keeper, who made a comfortable save.
At the other end Dzhalilov’s defence splitting pass required a timely interception from Afaneh before it could reach Millar. Panshanbe then lifted a shot from just inside the Al-Wehdat area but Al Fakhouri made the catch above his head.
The game had become much more open and at least there was now some action, and Gueye fed Shelbaieh to get to the byline but the cross was too close to the keeper, who made an easy catch.
Mazarov was under little pressure to deal with a long ball out of the Al-Wehdat defence but he needlessly conceded a corner with his attempted header back to his keeper. Al-Wehdat took a short corner and the ball reached Shelbaieh, who crossed towards the back post. Al Quza and Larin challenged for the ball and it rebound to Faisal, who controlled on his chest, and as Kurbanov slipped and was unable to close him down, Faisal was able to volley left-footed into roof of the net from 8 yards. 0-1 after 52 minutes.
Istikol nearly conceded another goal less than a minute after falling behind as Semreen cut back from the left but his side-footed shot lacked power and Stosic made routine save low to his right.
In the 56th minute Panshanbe fired a low 25 yard shot which bounced just in front of the keeper, who managed to pushed it away.
Al-Wehdat produced a flowing move in the 60th minute involving Faisal, Shelbaieh, Shawkat and Gueye. who released Samreen on the left, but after skipping past a defender his shot from a tight angle was blocked by Stosic who then dived on the loose ball before it could roll into the net.
Three minutes later Panshanbe teed up Millar but his shot from the edge of the area deflected off Shawkat and over the bar. The corner reached Manuchekhr Dzahaliov whose shot on the turn went into the ground and the ball bounced up for an easy save.
Istikol won another corner a minute later and Soirov’s cross needed Afaneh to head it away before it could either drift into the top corner or be headed home by Manuchekhr Dzahaliov . The corner was played to Nazarov whose curling cross was headed just wide by Millar.
Istikol were now on top, and Millar proved to be too strong for Al Quza and his pulled back reached Alisher Dzhalilov, who twisted to make space but his shot was high.
Abu Al Jazar was then robbed of possession by Manuchekhr Dzahaliov but to save his embarrassment, the Al-Wehdat defender then crashed to the floor holding his head, and won a free-kick. Pathetic acting and shocking refereeing !
When the football resumed Gueye sent an overhead kick well over the bar from a cross from Shelbaieh. Semreen then went on a mazy run, but his low cross was cleared before it could reach substitute Sabra.
With 77 minutes played, Larin gave the ball away, and Shawkat quickly put Semreen away on the left, but after cutting back into the area his shot was blocked and Shawkat curled the rebound high and wide. Less than a minute later Semreen again looked dangerous on the left but this time his cross was met by Shawkat, whose diving header was straight at the keeper.
Istikol immediately went down the other end of the pitch and Millar put a ball into the 6-yard box but in the scramble Manuchekhr Dzahaliov, Margiotta and Mabatshoev were all denied, with Fahid in particular putting his body on the line, before the ball rolled off for a goal kick.
Al Quza was sent rolling around on the floor after a mistimed tackle by Soirov, which looked pretty bad in the slow-motion replays, and the Istikol player was lucky to avoid receiving a card, which could even have been a red one.
Another scramble in the Al-Wehdat area occurred when Millar lofted a ball toward the centre of the goalmouth but Al-Wehdat were able to eventually clear and launched a rapid counterattack, but with a 3 on 1, Semreen’s ball to Sabra was totally overhit and the chance had gone.
Islomov then beat Shawkat to a header and the Al-Wehdat player went to ground and initially held his head but thought better of it and jumped back up. After looking back at Islomov, Shawkat then deliberately headed butted the Tajik, who ended up rolling on the floor holding his head. Bizarrely, the referee deemed a headbutt to be worthy of only a yellow card. Shawkat clearly isn’t a pussycat !
As tempers rose, Kurbonov was the next to enter the referee’s notebook for a wild lunge for the ball which ended with his kicking Mawali. Again, the sanction could easily have been more severe.
Five additional minutes were to be played, and Al-Wehdat launched another quick break as Sabra teed up Gueye with just the keeper to beat, but the Senegalese forward took too long to line up his shot and Kurbonov disposed him with a great sliding tackle.
The last piece of action saw a Shawkat shot from 30 yards go about 30 feet over the bar.
Al-Wehdat held on for a precious victory that keeps them level with Al-Sharjah at the top of the group, and on course for the knock-out stages.
The first half of the game was a candidate for one of the dullest witnessed by these diaries, but the second half was much better to watch.
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aepe6DeDz6A
FC Istikol : Stosic – Kurbonov, Larin, Dzhuraboev ( Margiotta ), Nazarov ( Islomov ) – Millar, Panshanbe, A Dzhalilov, de Souza ( M Dzhalilov ), Mabatshoev – Mitkov ( Soirov )
Al-Wehdat SC : Al Fakhouri –, Abu Al Jazar, Afaneh, Fahid, Khaled Khaldoon ( Al Quza ) – Shelbaieh, Jamous ( Afaleh ), Shawkat, Semreen ( Mawali ) – Gueye, Faisal ( Sabra )
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