2015 AFC Cup knockout stage

The 2015 AFC Cup knockout stage was played from 26 May to 31 October 2015. A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2015 AFC Cup.[1]

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the eight groups in the group stage qualified for the knockout stage. Both West Zone and East Zone had eight teams qualified.

Zone Group Winners Runners-up
West Zone
(Groups A–D)		 A Al-Wehdat Al-Wahda
B Al-Shorta Al-Jazeera
C Istiklol Al-Qadsia
D Al-Jaish Al-Kuwait
East Zone
(Groups E–H)		 E Persipura Jayapura Bengaluru FC
F Johor Darul Ta'zim Kitchee
G South China Pahang
H Persib Bandung Ayeyawady United

Format

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, while in the round of 16 and final, each tie was played as a single match. The away goals rule (for two-legged ties), extra time (away goals would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[1]

Schedule

The schedule of each round was as follows.[2]

Round First leg Second leg
Round of 16 26–27 May 2015
Quarter-finals 25–26 August 2015 15–16 September 2015
Semi-finals 29–30 September 2015 20–21 October 2015
Final 31 October 2015

Bracket

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group in the same zone, with the group winners hosting the match.[1] The matchups were determined as follows:

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 June 2015, 15:00 UTC+8, at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3] Teams from different zones could be drawn into the same tie, and there was no seeding or country protection, so teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.[4]

In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined by the quarter-final draw: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2 and Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4, with winners QF2 and QF4 hosting the second leg.[4]

In the final, the host team was determined by a draw, held after the quarter-final draw.[4]

  Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                     
Al-Shorta 0  
Al-Kuwait 2  
  Al-Kuwait 6 1 7  
  Kitchee 0 1 1  
Persib Bandung 0
Kitchee 2  
  Al-Kuwait 4 — —  
  Istiklol (w/o) 0 — —  
Istiklol (pen.) 1(4)  
Al-Wahda 1(2)  
  Istiklol 4 1 5
  Pahang 0 3 3  
Persipura Jayapura 0
Pahang (awd.) 3  
  Istiklol 0
  Johor Darul Ta'zim 1
Al-Wehdat 0  
Al-Qadsia 1  
  Al-Qadsia 3 0 3
  Al-Jaish 0 2 2  
Al-Jaish 1
Al-Jazeera 0  
  Al-Qadsia 3 — —
  Johor Darul Ta'zim (w/o) 1 — —  
Johor Darul Ta'zim 5  
Ayeyawady United 0  
  Johor Darul Ta'zim 1 3 4
  South China 1 1 2  
South China 2
Bengaluru FC 0  

Round of 16

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Zone
Al-Wehdat 0–1 Al-Qadsia
Istiklol 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		 Al-Wahda
Al-Shorta 0–2 Al-Kuwait
Al-Jaish 1–0 Al-Jazeera
East Zone
Persipura Jayapura 0–3 (awd.) Pahang
South China 2–0 Bengaluru FC
Johor Darul Ta'zim 5–0 Ayeyawady United
Persib Bandung 0–2 Kitchee
Persipura Jayapura Cancelled
0–3 (Awarded)		 Pahang
Report

The Persipura Jayapura v Pahang match was not played as scheduled as Pahang players were denied entry into Indonesia due to visa issues.[5] The AFC announced on 10 June 2015 that as a result, Persipura Jayapura forfeited the match and was considered to have lost the match by 3–0, based on the AFC Cup 2015 Competition Regulations and the AFC Disciplinary Code.[6]

South China 2–0 Bengaluru FC
McBreen  28' (pen.), 58' Report
Attendance: 3,381
Istiklol 1–1 (a.e.t.) Al-Wahda
Al Kurdi  34' (o.g.) Report Al Kurdi  21'
Penalties
Davronov
Nazarov
Fatkhuloev
Umarbaev 		4–2 Omari
Kataya
Hamdoko
Khadouj
Attendance: 17,100
Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)
Al-Wehdat 0–1 Al-Qadsia
Report Al Ansari  76'
Attendance: 10,000
Persib Bandung 0–2 Kitchee
Report Belencoso  32'
Lam Ka Wai  44'
Jalak Harupat Soreang Stadium, Bandung
Attendance: 12,352
Referee: Dmitriy Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)
Johor Darul Ta'zim 5–0 Ayeyawady United
Safiq  1'
Figueroa  46', 90+1'
Díaz  61', 74'		 Report
Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru
Attendance: 16,850
Referee: Jameel Abdulhusin (Bahrain)
Al-Jaish 1–0 Al-Jazeera
Sharifa  90' (pen.) Report
Attendance: 300
Al-Shorta 0–2 Al-Kuwait
Report Al Buraiki  80' (pen.)
Rogerinho  90+4'
Attendance: 165
Referee: Tan Hai (China)
Notes
  1. ^
    Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
  2. ^
    Teams from Iraq were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

Quarter-finals

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Qadsia 3–2 Al-Jaish 3–0 0–2
Johor Darul Ta'zim 4–2 South China 1–1 3–1
Al-Kuwait 7–1 Kitchee 6–0 1–1
Istiklol 5–3 Pahang 4–0 1–3

First leg
Johor Darul Ta'zim 1–1 South China
Figueroa  49' (pen.) Report Awal  63'
Attendance: 14,700
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
Al-Qadsia 3–0 Al-Jaish
Al Ansari  12'
Fuakumputu  64'
Al-Mutawa  69'		 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Istiklol 4–0 Pahang
Chahjouyi  35'
Vasiev  36', 77'
Makhmudov  51'		 Report
Attendance: 15,000
Al-Kuwait 6–0 Kitchee
Rogerinho  12', 52'
Al Enezi  21'
Hammami  45+4'
Vinícius  82' (pen.)
Al Kandari  90+2'		 Report
Attendance: 800

Second leg
South China 1–3 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Awal  28' Report Mahali  26'
Safee  30', 45+2'
Attendance: 6,412

Johor Darul Ta'zim won 4–2 on aggregate.

Al-Jaish 2–0 Al-Qadsia
Ebrahim  35' (o.g.)
Al-Baher  51'		 Report
Attendance: 1,500

Al-Qadsia won 3–2 on aggregate.

Kitchee 1–1 Al-Kuwait
Paulinho  9' Report Al Hajri  49'
Attendance: 1,392

Al-Kuwait won 7–1 on aggregate.

Pahang 3–1 Istiklol
Hafiz  31', 58'
Saarvindran  90+2'		 Report Makhmudov  61'
Attendance: 1,309

Istiklol won 5–3 on aggregate.

Notes
  1. ^
    Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.

Semi-finals

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Qadsia w/o Johor Darul Ta'zim 3–1 Cancelled
Al-Kuwait w/o Istiklol 4–0 Cancelled

First leg
Al-Qadsia 3–1 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Fuakumputu  33'
Al-Mutawa  42' (pen.)
Soumah  58'		 Report Amri  82'
Attendance: 1,501
Al-Kuwait 4–0 Istiklol
Vinícius  40', 80' (pen.), 86' (pen.)
Al Harbi  90+2'		 Report
Attendance: 350
Referee: Mohsen Torky (Iran)

Second leg

On 16 October 2015, the Kuwait Football Association was suspended by FIFA.[7] As a result, both Al-Qadsia and Al-Kuwait were no longer eligible to compete in the AFC Cup. The second legs of both semi-finals were cancelled, and Johor Darul Ta'zim and Istiklol advanced to the final by walkover.[8]

Johor Darul Ta'zim Cancelled Al-Qadsia
Report
Larkin Stadium, Johor Bahru
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Istiklol Cancelled Al-Kuwait
Report
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

Final
Main article: 2015 AFC Cup Final
Team 1  Score  Team 2
Istiklol 0–1 Johor Darul Ta'zim

Istiklol 0–1 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Report Velázquez  23'
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)

References
  1. "AFC Cup 2015 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  2. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2015" (PDF). AFC.
  3. "AFC Cup 2015 Quarter-finals draw concluded". AFC. 18 June 2015.
  4. "Stage set for AFC Cup quarter-finals draw". AFC. 16 June 2015.
  5. "Statement on Persipura Jayapura v Pahang FA AFC Cup Round of 16 fixture". AFC. 25 May 2015.
  6. "Persipura Jayapura forfeit AFC Cup match v Pahang FA". AFC. 10 June 2015.
  7. "Suspension of the Kuwait Football Association". FIFA.com. 16 October 2015.
  8. "FIFA Suspension of Kuwait FA: AFC Cup implications". AFC. 17 October 2015.
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