The Akshumkar were irresistible against the Southeast Asians, registering their biggest ever win as a national team as veteran midfielder Edgar Bernhardt bagged the first hat-trick of his career.
The result was much needed, putting their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying campaign back on an even keel after last month’s 1-0 defeat to Tajikistan in Dushanbe, and their boss praised his charges for an excellent night’s work.
“It is impossible to overfulfill (our expectations),” said head coach Krestinin, who is 10 days away from celebrating five years in the role.
“We performed very well in principle, with the exception of some moments where we relaxed a bit and gave our opponents some opportunities to prove themselves. Overall, we understood the situation of the whole match very well.”
It was a night where practically every Kyrgyz Republic player shone, including experienced campaigners like Bernhardt and captain Valerii Kichin, but Krestinin reserved special praise for youngsters Gulzhigit Alykulov (pictured above) and Alimardon Shukurov – 18 and 20 years of age respectively – who both scored their first international goals.
Alykulov has been winning plaudits for his performances for Belarusian club Neman Grodno, while Shukurov (pictured below), who scored twice, plies his trade in Turkey for Boluspor.
Neither club is a household name in world football, but Krestinin said the youngsters’ performances on Thursday showed they belong at the senior international level.
“In our team, we have no young and old players, we simply have the best players in the country, who gathered today in a team,” Krestinin declared.
“Alykulov and Alimardon (Shukurov), like the whole team, played a very high-quality game today. They are young men, but they are no longer young men in terms of their quality.
“We don’t give them any discounts; I don’t take experiments in my team. They deserved a place in the squad and gradually we have brought them to this level. Today they were ready to perform at a more advanced level.”
Photos: Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic
