Fortis FC end Challenge League campaign with 3-1 comeback win over Regar-TadAZ
They began with a defeat and their exit was sealed by another loss, but Fortis FC ended their AFC Challenge League campaign with a victory. Despite conceding first, the Bangladeshi club fought back superbly to beat Tajikistan's Regar-TadAZ 3-1.
The three points from the final match were not enough for Fortis to cross the group stage. Still, this win on the international stage remained a major consolation for the team.
The two sides met in the final Group C match on Friday at the Mohammed Al Hamad Stadium in Hawalli, Kuwait. Fortis fell behind in the 12th minute to a goal from Sherzod Makhamadiev.
Just six minutes later, however, the Bangladeshi side got its chance to change the picture of the match. The Regar-TadAZ goalkeeper was shown a straight red card for a foul outside the box and left the field.
Substitute goalkeeper Shakhobiddin Makhmudzoda came on and immediately saved a curling free-kick from Pa Omar Babou to give his team relief. With no further goals in the first half, Fortis went into the break a goal down.
In the second half, the Bangladeshi club made use of their numerical advantage. In the 67th minute, Rafael Tudu scored with a superb backheel shot from Pa Omar Babou's pass to bring Fortis level.
Four minutes later they extended the lead. From Mohammad Ibrahim's cross, Ananta Tamang headed the ball on and Xian Kawasaki found the net with a powerful volley.
Fortis kept pushing to increase the margin late on. In the 88th minute, Shuki Itofusa scored with assistance from Pa Omar Babou to seal the win. The Bangladeshi club left the field with a 3-1 victory.
The win took Fortis to three points at the end of their three group matches. Earlier, they had lost 3-0 to Kuwait's Al-Qadsia in their opening match and 2-1 against India's FC Goa in the second, results that had already confirmed their exit from the tournament.
All in all, Fortis FC finished this AFC Challenge League campaign with a win — a result that will give the team confidence ahead of their next international campaign.
