Neftchi saw off Surkhon 2-1 in a Superliga Regular Season fixture on Wednesday, the match ending at the stadium after a contest that swung between promise and frustration. The visitors had more of the ball but the home side took their chances when it mattered, and that distinction proved decisive.
V. Jovovic opened the scoring early, finding the net in the twelfth minute before the game settled into a rhythm. S. Perica thought he had levelled for Surkhon in the sixteenth, but the goal was cancelled on offside — a moment that shifted the momentum, and here's the thing, you could feel the visitors regrouping. Then came the penalty, thirty-two minutes in, and Perica buried it to bring the scores level.
What followed was a different story. K. Yusupov restored Neftchi's lead just after the break, the forty-seventh minute marking a turning point that the visitors could not recover from. Perica had a second penalty chance in the sixty-fourth but missed, and by then Neftchi had closed the game down. The hosts defended well, and to be fair, they made sure every chance counted.
Surkhon dominated possession at sixty per cent to Neftchi's forty, but the statistics tell only part of the tale. The visitors registered more attacks — ninety to seventy-four — and won more corners, yet only four shots found the target compared to five for the home side. More shots with one goal means chances went begging, and Surkhon felt the pressure as the half wore on.
Neftchi remain top of the table with forty-five points from twenty games, while Surkhon sit twelfth on twenty-three. The result ends a run of mixed fortunes for the hosts, who had drawn 2-6 against Nasaf in their previous outing, whereas the visitors secured a 1-0 win over Bunyodkor last time out.
