Ollmaliq and Nasaf met in the Super League's fifteenth round on Sunday, with the visitors taking all three points with a 2:1 victory. The match at Ollmaliq's ground decided nothing dramatic, but the result shifts the standings slightly. Both sides came in with similar points totals, which made this one worth watching.
B. Abdikholikov gave the hosts the lead early, firing home in the eighth minute. The home side then looked comfortable enough to carry that advantage into the break. Z. Abdirakhmatov picked up a yellow card just before the interval, and A. Karimov came on for Ollmaliq at the restart.
Nasaf turned the game around quickly. S. Mukhitdinov equalised in the sixty-second minute, and by then Ollmaliq had to start chasing. G. Papava put the visitors ahead eight minutes later, and that goal felt like the turning point. Ollmaliq threw bodies forward but could not find the equaliser.
Both managers made several changes in the second half, trying to find a solution. A. Turdialiev, A. Shala, A. Sobirzhonov, M. Rakhmatov and S. Mukhitdinov all came on at various stages. The substitutions did not change the outcome, though Ollmaliq's pressure in the final minutes kept things interesting.
After the match Ollmaliq sit fifth on twenty-one points, while Nasaf move up to seventh with thirty-one. The gap between them is now one point, and both clubs still have games to play. It was not a classic, but it was the kind of result that matters in a title race.