Fardou 3-1 Shortan
Fardou edged past Shortan 3-1 in the Pro-League A regular season round 16 on Friday evening. The hosts took advantage of a narrow window after the visitors opened the scoring, then felt the pressure and turned the game on its head. It was a result that tightened the race at the top of the table.
Shortan grabbed the lead through S. Bashriddinov in the 53rd minute, capitalising on a moment of space in the box. But Fardou refused to let the deficit stand, with A. Murodov finding the net in the 43rd minute before the break. That early strike proved pivotal, setting the tone for what followed.
After the interval, R. Ayvazov restored the advantage in the 72nd minute, and M. Komilov sealed the win with a late finish in the 85th. The visitors looked exposed once the hosts found their rhythm, and by then the momentum had shifted decisively.
Before kick-off, Shortan sat third with 33 points from 17 games, while Fardou trailed in fourth with 32. The two teams had been separated by a single point, and this result brought them closer together again. The draw brought them together early would have been the better outcome, but the points went to the hosts.
Fardou extended their unbeaten run to five matches, having drawn with Dzhayhun and then won four straight. Shortan's recent form had been solid, but the loss to Aral earlier in the month and this defeat suggested vulnerability under pressure.
What stood out was the shift in momentum rather than any statistical dominance. The match was decided in three key moments, and the rest was noise. Fardou's resilience after going behind was the defining feature.