Halikov scored two goals in the first half before completing his hat-trick in the 67th minute while Umidjon Boqiyev scored in the 74th and 79th minutes to round off the scoring

Neftchi showed their attacking intentions right from the beginning as they took only 30 seconds to create their first chance when Mansorjun Saidov struck a volley that went straight into the hands of Al Tilal goalkeeper Amroos.

The Yemeni goalkeeper was called into action once again after five minutes when Bahtiyorjon Yakubov’s corner from the left was headed by Asqarjon Mukhiddinov towards Amroos.

The Neftchi pressure eventually paid off after 13 minutes, however, when Yakubov played a cross from the right that was headed into the top right corner of the net by Halikov.

Al Tilal created their first chance of the game after 29 minutes when Mohammed Ali Farid crossed from the left and Congolese midfielder Kazadi Emogelz headed wide.

They were punished for that miss when Neftchi scored their second goal of the night after 35 minutes when Halikov received a cross from the back on his chest before breaking into the area and smashing home a powerful shot.

The visitors kept their foot on the gas in the second half and should have scored on the hour mark when Umidjon Boqiyev fired a powerful shot that was saved by Amroos.

However, the Yemeni goalkeeper was beaten seven minutes later when Halikov completed his hat-trick, heading home from Muhsin Nizametdinov’s pass.

There were still time for more goals as Halikov turned from scorer to provider in the 74th minute when, after a good run on the right, he passed to Boqiyev to score.

Boqiyev completed a quick-fire brace five minutes later when he collected a loose ball before firing a powerful right foot shot into the net.