Qatar Football AssociationNews
21.04.2016 12:13 in :

TASHKENT: Lekhwiya maintained their push for a place in the round of 16 of the 2016 AFC Champions League on Wednesday when goals from Karim Boudiaf and Mohammed Muntari secured a 2-0 win over Group B rivals Bunyodkor that eliminated the Uzbek side.

Captain Boudiaf struck in the 65thminute before Muntari sealed the result 2 minutes from time and the win moves Djamal Belmadi’s side on to eight points with only one match remaining in the group phase.

Bunyodkor, semi-finalists in the AFC Champions League in 2008 and 2012, needed to win to have any hope of staying alive in the competition and the defeat leaves them stranded at the bottom of the standings on two points.

Lekhwiya had the first chance of the game after just seven minutes when Ali Afif volleyed over the bar from close range, while at the other end goalkeeper Amine Lecomte pulled off an acrobatic save to deny Otabek Shukurov’s attempt from 30 yards out.

Just before the half hour mark Afif went close again, but this time Bunyodkor goalkeeper Murotjon Zukhorov was on hand to push his side-footed effort to safety.

Jurica Buljat tried his luck from outside the area in the 58thminute, only for the ball to sail over the cross bar before Lekhwiya took the lead seven minutes later.

Nam Tae-hee’s attempted through ball was redirected by the Bunyodkor defence into the path of Boudiaf, and his first-time effort beat Zukhorov at the near post to put the visitors in front.

Four minutes later, Nam almost doubled his side’s lead, only to shoot across the face of goal, while the Korea Republic international was involved again in the 74thminute when his one-two with Boudiaf allowed the goal scorer to fire off a shot that came back off Zukhorov’s left post.

By the 78thminute, however, Lekhwiya had claimed a deserved second as Yousef Msakni slipped the ball into the path of Mohammed Muntari and the young Qatar international struck his left foot shot under Zukhorov and into the bottom corner.

There was no way back for Bunyodkor and Lekhwiya go into their meeting with the Uzbek side in Doha in two weeks’ time harbour strong hopes of advancing to the knockout phase once again.