The footballers of Turkmenbashi’s “Shagadam” defeated Mary’s “Merv” 2–1 in a rescheduled match of the 22nd round of the Turkmenistan Higher League championship.
The game took place in the city of Turkmenbashi.
Before this encounter, the opponents had faced each other three times in the current national championship. In two matches, “Shagadam” celebrated victory with the same score of 1–0, and only in one home game for “Merv”, in the second round-robin stage, was a draw recorded — 1–1.
In their fourth head-to-head meeting, the team from Mary failed to offer worthy resistance to the players from the Caspian coast, conceding one goal in each half. The victory for the team of Honored Coach Ali Gurbani was secured by goals from Musa Nurnazarov (31st minute) and Rovshen Bayliyev (90+5).
After this result, “Shagadam” caught up in points with “Ahal”, which is currently in third place. Both teams now have 36 points. However, “Ahal” has played 19 matches, while “Shagadam” has played two more. The second position in the standings is held by “Altyn Asyr” with 40 points after 22 matches. Leading the championship with the maximum number of points — 63 after 21 games — is “Arkadag.”
“Merv”, having suffered its 14th defeat, occupies the second-to-last place with 11 points, ahead of the capital’s “Kopetdag” by just one point.
It should be noted that in the top scorers’ race, the leader with 20 goals (1 from a penalty) is Didar Durdyev of “Arkadag”, the best striker of the past two Turkmenistan championships. The following three positions are also held by his teammates: Begench Akmamedov — 17 (1 from a penalty), Altymyrat Annadurdyyev — 16 (1 from a penalty), and Shamammet Hydyrov — 9 (1 from a penalty).
turkmenistan.gov.tm
