Kyrgyzstan defender Igor Kudrenko (#13) in action against Afghanistan on Wednesday in Bishkek.

BISHKEK: Afghanistan boosted their chances of qualifying for the AFC Challenge Cup 2008 Finals with a shocking 1-0 victory over hosts Kyrgyzstan at the Spartak Stadium here on Wednesday.

Afghanistan, who held Bangladesh to a goalless in the opener, now have four points and their qualification for the main competition now depends on the result of the final Group C game between Bangladesh and the Central Asians on May 9.

A draw or victory for Kyrgyzstan in the final game will see Afghanistan through while Bangladesh need to win by a two-goal margin to qualify for the tournament proper to be held in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad from July 30 to August 10.

This was Afghanistan’s second win over their rivals in as many games. They first defeated Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in 2003.

Klaus Stark’s side relied mainly on counter attacks and it paid dividends in the 38th minute when Ata Yamrali silenced the cheering crowd when he headed home an Obaidullah Karimi cross.

Vadim Harchenko could have opened the account for the hosts in the sixth minute but his header was off target while eight minutes later Karimi’s shot from the left was saved by Kyrgyz goalkeeper Maksim Agapov.

Kyrgyzstan mounted several attacks after the break but their strikers failed to find the target. Aibek Bokoev got a chance in the 69th minute but his shot went over the bar.

Afghanistan’s Hashmatullah Barekzai was given his marching orders in the last minute of injury time but the South Asians held on for a memorable win.

Stark was happy with the result saying, “I am unbelievably happy. We have had a lot of luck but my team played with a lot of spirit and determination. I think we deserved the win because of our hard work."

“This is a historic day for Afghan football. We don't have an infrastructure like in other countries but we play European style football and this is our first step towards bigger success," said the German.

Kyrgyzstan coach Nematjan Zakirov said: "We created lots of chances but failed to capitalize on them. Afghanistan converted their only chance of the game.”

“We don’t want to let down our spectators and will try hard to beat Bangladesh in the final game,” he said.