Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bengaluru: Coach Mukhsin Mukhamadiev hailed the success of FC Istiklol’s counter-attacking game plan as a 2-2 draw against JSW Bengaluru in the AFC Cup Inter-Zone final on Wednesday was enough to book a date in the final with holders Air Force Club of Iraq following a 3-2 aggregate win.
Having won the first leg 1-0 in Dushanbe last month, Istiklol went into the return fixture at Sree Kanteerava Stadium with real hope of making a second final in three seasons, and Nuriddin Davronov’s early penalty left the hosts needing three goals to progress.
Bengaluru levelled but were down to 10 men before the break and Dmitri Barkov’s tap-in as the hour approached was enough to ease any nerves and render Sunil Chhetri’s penalty midway through the second half a consolation as Istiklol returned to a second AFC Cup final after losing out in 2015.
“Our first aim tonight was to score on Bengaluru’s pitch because we didn’t think they could score three against us.” said Mukhamadiev.
“The first goal in any game is always important. We’ve watched a lot of Bengaluru games and we know that they like to push forward, so the aim for this match was to catch them on the counter-attack and the team carried out the plans well.
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