Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hisor: Coach Mukhsin Mukhamadiev has spoken of his sorrow that FC Istiklol were unable to bring joy to their fans after the Tajik side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Iraq’s Air Force Club in the AFC Cup final on Saturday.
Istiklol were handed the benefit of playing the one-legged final at home and 20,000 supporters packed out Hisor Central Stadium to create a fabulous atmosphere as their side aimed to make up for the disappointment of losing 1-0 to Johor Darul Ta’zim of Malaysia in the 2015 final.
But it was not to be as Emad Mohsin’s strike midway through the second half, after Air Force Club’s Hammadi Ahmed had earlier missed a penalty, proved the only goal of the game as the holders retained the title they won 12 months ago following victory over India’s JSW Bengaluru.
“It’s a pity we lost the final at home, our second final in the last three seasons, because we wanted to bring happiness to our fans,” said Mukhamadiev.
“We began the match well and created some chances, but our opponents played very well in defence and didn’t allow us shots on goal.
“We lost our concentration in the second half and Air Force Club took advantage of this to score the winning goal of the tournament.”
The defeat proved to be the first of the campaign for Istiklol, who had previously won five from five at home en route to the final.
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