Kuala Lumpur: Teams from the Asian Football Confederation’s South and Central Zones will look to edge ever closer to the AFC Cup Group Stage when the first legs of their Play-offs get underway on Tuesday.
South Zone AFC Cup Play-off First Leg
Club Valencia (MDV ) v Mohun Bagan (IND)
Venue: National Stadium, Malé
Kick-off: February 21, 16.00 UTC+5
Second Leg: February 28
THE TEAMS
Club Valencia (Maldives)
Club Valencia advanced to the AFC Cup Play-off Stage after a 3-0 defeat of Thimphu City secured an identical aggregate success in the Preliminary Stage in Malé.
After struggling in the 2016 Divehi Premier League and narrowly avoiding relegation, Club Valencia earned a spot in the AFC Cup preliminaries by beating TC Sports Club to win a fifth Maldives FA Cup title. They have appeared in the AFC Cup three times before (2004, 2005 and 2009) but have yet to get past the Group Stage.
Mohun Bagan (India)
Mohun Bagan booked themselves a place in the AFC Play-off Stage as a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka’s Colombo FC saw the Indian side secure a 4-2 aggregate success in the Preliminary Stage.
The Indian side qualified for the 2017 AFC Cup Preliminary Stage after lifting the Indian Federation Cup for a record 14th time in 2016 with a 5-0 trouncing of Aizawl in the final. The Kolkata club, which was founded in 1889, reached the last 16 of the AFC Cup last year but lost 2-1 after extra-time to Singapore’s Tampines Rovers.
Central Zone AFC Cup Play-off First Leg
Dordoi FC (KGZ) v FC Hosilot (TJK)
Venue: Akhmatbek Suyinbaev Stadium, Osh
Kick-off: February 21, 15.00 UTC+6
Second Leg: February 28
THE TEAMS
Dordoi FC (Kyrgyz Republic)
Dordoi FC advanced to the 2017 AFC Cup Central Zone Play-offs after beating Balkan FC 3-2 on aggregate following a 2-1 Preliminary Stage second leg win over the Turkmenistan side.
Two-time winners of the AFC President’s Cup, Dordoi FC, Kyrgyz Republic’s most successful club with nine league titles, qualified for the Preliminary Stage of the AFC Cup qualifiers by finishing top of Group A in the competition’s Play-off qualifiers. They finished runners-up to FC Alay in the league in 2016 but beat them 1-0 in the Kyrgyzstan Cup final.
FC Hosilot (Tajikistan)
FC Hosilot guaranteed themselves an AFC Cup Play-off date against Kyrgyzstan club Dordoi FC after a draw against Shaheen Asmayee in their Preliminary Stage second leg match proved enough to claim a 1-0 aggregate win over the Afghanistan side.
The Tajik outfit qualified for the AFC Cup Play-offs for the first time after a solid season in 2016 in which they were runners-up in the Tajik League and narrowly lost the Tajik Cup final in a penalty shootout to FC Istiklol.
Photos: Dordoi FC, Mohun Bagan, Club Valencia, Tajikistan Football Federation
Source: the-afc.com