Football club Arkadag defended its title as Turkmenistan champion. The team representing the city of the same name achieved this success ahead of schedule, five rounds before the end of the national championship, defeating Ahal FC 1-0 in the 23rd round match, The Golden age electronic newspaper reports.
The game took place in Ashgabat at the Nisa stadium.
For most of the match, vice-champion of Turkmenistan held off the attacks of the visiting team. However, in the 68th minute, they conceded a goal that decided the match. The goal was scored by Didar Durdyyev, the top scorer of the last two National Championships. He now has 21 goals (1 penalty), putting him comfortably ahead of the top scorers.
Having scored 66 points in 22 games after this victory, FC Arkadag became unattainable for the rest of their opponents.
FC Arkadag, the core of the Turkmenistan national team, was founded in 2023 and already in its debut year achieved the double, winning the National Championship and Cup. Remarkably, since its founding, the team has not dropped a single point in official national championship matches. Last year, players of Arkadag completed the treble: in addition to their National Championship gold medals, they also won the Turkmenistan Cup and Super Cup. Now, for the third year in a row, they have won the country's top trophy.
Vladimir Bayramov, a 45-year-old former striker for the Turkmenistan national team, winner of the 2003/04 Russian Cup with Groznyy’s Terek and the 2013 AFC Cup of President with Balkan, led FC Arkadag to this success as head coach.
