Source: The-AFC.com

Dilshod Rakhmatov scored a brace to salvage a point as Uzbek giants Ardus held Thai powerhouse Chonburi Bluewave 2-2 in the opening match of the AFC Futsal Club Championship 2013 on Tuesday.

In the hard-fought first half, which saw both sides squandering chances, Chonburi drew first blood in the 16th minute through Apiwat Chaemcharoen but both were able to score a goal apiece in the 27th minute.

Chonburi’s Jirawat Sornwichian and Rakhmatov both got on the scoresheet to make it 2-1 to the Thais and just as it was looking like Chonburi were going to bag all three points, Rakhmatov rescued the 2012 runners-up by scoring his second in the 33rd minute.

The Thai side’s coach Pazos Mendez, who knows almost all the players of Ardus having led Uzbekistan at the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 in the UAE, conceded that the result did not reflect the match.

“It was a strange game,” he said.

“In the first 20 minutes, it was difficult to find space. Ironically, when we were on the top of the game, they scored and when they dominated we scored.

“Ardus have a lot of Uzbekistan national players and they are very strong, but I think we had chances of our own to walk away with all three points.

“We have nothing to lose against Nagoya on Wednesday so we will try to recover and face the hosts."

Mendez's counterpart Buhodir Ahmedov praised his opponents and accepted the results with optimism.

“The Thai team played beautifully with techniques and skills and we enjoy playing against these skillful side,” he said.

“But this match is done and now our concentration is Wednesday’s big game against Al Sadd."





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