KYRGYZ REPUBLIC: Alay’s cup run over, title chase on course

FC Alay Osh started and finished the week on top of the table, but a midweek 2-1 defeat to Neftchi Kochkor-Ata ended their Kyrgyzstan Cup campaign at the quarter-final stage in a week of highs and lows for the Kyrgyz Premier League’s form team.

Saturday’s return to league action brought swift revenge for Alay, who earned a 1-0 win over Neftchi on Saturday thanks to an Akramzhon Umarov goal, while national team stars Azamat Baimatov, Bekzhan Sagynbaev and Ernist Batyrkanov all got on the scoresheet as defending champions FC Dordoi beat Abdish-Ata 5-0 on Sunday.

The Riyadh club, along with new head coach Răzvan Lucescu, have set up camp in the city of Lienz which will be their base for the duration of their three-week stay in Austria.

Luis Sierra, who took over from Slaven Bilic in February, steered the club out of the relegation zone to finish 10th in the domestic league but the Saudi Arabia club have performed especially well on the continental front.

The Tigers advanced into the knockout rounds of the 2019 AFC Champions League when they took second spot in Group B behind United Arab Emirates’ Al Wahda, to book a Round of 16 clash against Zobahan FC.

Head coach Maurice Steijn is using the camp to familiarise himself with the squad, with the Dutchman having taking over from compatriot Hank ten Cate just two weeks ago.

Steijn has had to hit the ground running as Al Wahda, who finished third in the 2018-19 UAE Pro League, will be in 2019 AFC Champions League action in just under a month.

They will face Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr in the first leg of the Round of 16 on August 5 with the return leg a week later.

The ASEAN Zonal Final will see Becamex Binh Duong hosting Hanoi FC in the first leg at the Binh Duong Stadium on July 31. The return leg of the all-Vietnam ASEAN Zonal Final will be played on August 7.

The ASEAN Zonal winners will face 2018 runners-up Altyn Asyr in the Inter-Zone Semi-final on August 20, with the return leg on August 27.

Altyn, the 2018 AFC Cup runners-up, took a 1-0 lead at the start of the second half, but conceded through an Istiklol set-piece before weathering a late charge by their opponents to share the spoils at the Central Republican Stadium.