The opening match of the 9th round of the Turkmenistan Higher League Football Championship ended with a victory for the capital’s "Altyn Asyr" over Balkanabat’s "Nebitchi" with a score of 1:0. 

The game was held at the "Sport toplumy" stadium Buzmeyin etrap of Ashgabat. 

The outcome of the match was decided by a goal scored in the 70th minute by Rovshen Halmamedov. 

Thus, the team coached by Yazguly Hojageldiyev took revenge on "Nebitchi" for the defeat in the first round-robin stage, which had the same minimal score of 1:0. 

After this victory, "Altyn Asyr" secured third place with 16 points. The top two spots in the league table are shared by the current two-time champion of Turkmenistan, "Arkadag," and last year’s national championship silver medalist, "Ahal," both having 18 points. However, "Arkadag" has played two fewer matches. 

In the next round, "Nebitchi" will play on May 9 in the Balkan derby at home against "Shagadam" from the city of Turkmenbashy, while "Altyn Asyr" will play their next match on May 18 against "Ahal." 

The 9th round of the Turkmenistan championship will continue on May 3 with the matches: "Shagadam" vs. "Ashgabat" and "Merv" vs. "Kopetdag." The game between "Ahal" and "Arkadag," which was supposed to take place in this round, has been postponed due to the champion’s preparation for the AFC Challenge League final to one of the reserve days.