Fortis FC ended their debut AFC Challenge League campaign on a high, coming from behind to beat Tajikistan’s FC Regar-TadAZ 3-1 in Group C on Friday for their first victory in the competition.
Both sides finished their campaigns with three points, but Fortis secured second place in the four-team group on goal difference, behind Kuwait’s Qadsia SC. The Bangladesh Football League outfit had lost their opening match 3-0 to Qadsia before suffering a 2-1 defeat to FC Goa.
Regar-TadAZ took the lead in the 12th minute when Ndongo Foe’s clever flick sent Sherzod Makhamadiev through on the right. The No. 10 cut inside Monir Alam before firing past Sujan Perera.
However, the match took a decisive turn five minutes later when Regar-TadAZ goalkeeper Severin Takam was sent off for tripping Noriki Akada outside the box after the Japanese forward intercepted Martin Ako Assomo’s underhit back pass.
Replacement goalkeeper Shakhobiddin Makhmudzoda immediately had to make a save, keeping out Pa Omar’s curling free-kick.
Fortis pressed forward with their numerical advantage but missed a golden opportunity to equalise in the 35th minute. Omar chested the ball down for Akada inside the box, but the Japanese forward blazed his effort over the bar.
Regar-TadAZ head coach Alisher Tukhtaev opted against instructing his side to sit deep and defend their lead, leaving the contest open after the break.
Fortis took full advantage, drawing level in the 67th minute. Makhmudzoda dived to stop second-half substitute Shuki Itofusa but could only divert the ball into Omar’s path. The forward then picked out Rafayel Tudu at the far post, where he finished with a backheel.
Fortis completed the turnaround just four minutes later. Ananta Tamang headed Mohammad Ibrahim’s cross into the path of Shian Kawasaki, who unleashed a volley past Makhmudzoda to put the Bangladesh side ahead.
Mohammad Masud’s men sealed the victory in the 88th minute, with Omar setting up Shuki for a composed, curling side-footed finish.
Shuki, the Japanese-Bangladeshi forward who made his international debut for Bangladesh during the FIFA ASEAN Cup in September, came off the bench in the 64th minute and made an immediate impact with a goal to cap a memorable end to Fortis’s maiden continental campaign.
