Vakhsh striker Akhtam Khamrakulov (left) exults as Ratnam's Mohamed Izzadeen (right) scores an own goal. Photo by: AFC/Stanley Chou.

KUCHING: An own goal ended Ratnam's quest for a place in the semifinals of the AFC President’s Cup as they lost to FC Vakhsh 2-1 in the last eight at the State Stadium here today. Sri Lankan outfit Ratnam certainly looked like the better side for most of the match, and that was probably because they were in a must-win situation while Tajikistan's Vakhsh, with their better goal difference, needed only to draw. Ratnam coach Emmanuel Balendra Anthony said his men had planned a blitz from the start, and it almost worked.

"Even when we condceded the first goal, I was confident of winning the game. But when the own goal came...that killed us off," said Anthony. The first period ended goalless but while Ratnam did dominate the match, they didn't really have a single decent attempt on the Vakhsh goal. One minute into the second half, a quick counter-attack saw Vakhsh steal the lead through Nazirshoh Rizomov. Ratnam kept piling the pressure, and within five minutes they finally tested Vakash goalkeeper Aslidin Khabibulloev. An attempt from about 25 metres by Faziur Rahman Abdul Azeez was tipped over the crossbar. Then came the own goal in the 74th minute by Mohamed Izzadeen Mohamed Naufer, who in an attempt to stop a cross, sent the ball crashing into the back of the net. Seven minutes later, Ratnam were rewarded when Channa Ediribandanage scored but it was obvious time was running out on Ratnam, who needed to score two more times to get into the semifinals. "We were surprised with Ratnam's display today. They were very aggressive and we had problems keeping pace with them," said Vakhsh coach Uraz Turaquilov. "Our purpose was to qualify for the semis of course and though we needed only a draw, we wanted to win just to make sure. And I am happy to have done just that." Vakhsh will clash with Chinese Taipei side Tatung in the second semifinal on May 18 at the Sarawak Stadium here at 2000 hours.