Iran’s Zob Ahan defeats Al Wahda of UAE in 2018 AFC Champions League
Iranian football club Zob Ahan Isfahan has earned a valuable win at the preliminary round of the 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, beating Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On Tuesday evening, the Iranian team routed the visitors 2-0 at the end of a Group B match played in Foolad Shahr Stadium just outside the central Iranian city of Isfahan.
Both teams started the match vigorously and had exchange attempts within the first five minutes.
The hosts came close to opening the scoring moments later, when 26-year-old midfielder Bakhtiar Rahmani made a side-footed effort from inside the box. Al Wahda guardian Mohammed Al Shamsi, however, pulled off a fine save.
Zob Ahan finally managed to take the lead in the 34th minute, when Vice Captain Morteza Tabrizi hammered the ball home from Mohammad Reza Hosseini’s cross.
Midfielder Bakhtiar Rahmani was about to double Zob Ahan’s lead in the 56th minute after he curled a shot with the outside of his foot.
But the ball ricocheted off and fell to Brazilian teammate Kiros Stanlley Soares Ferraz, who failed to grasp the marvelous opportunity with the empty goal at his mercy from six yards out.
In the 72nd minute, Tabrizi took advantage of a defensive lapse and nestled the ball into the back of the net from 30 yards out.
Esteghlal earns two-all draw in AFC Champions League
In another match of the day, Iranian professional football club Esteghlal Tehran achieved a two-all draw against Emirati club Al Ain in a Group D tie at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi.
Both teams failed to score a goal in the first half, and went into the cloakrooms tied at nil.
Seven minutes into the second half, Senegalese footballer Mame Baba Thiam converted Farshid Esmaeili’s cross from the left flank at the near post, and put Esteghlal in front.
Al Ain’s Swedish striker Marcus Berg scored the equalizer in the 63rd minute, when he beat the Tehran-based team’s goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini from a narrow angle.
Thiam sent his strike into the far corner of Al Ain’s net in the 77th minute, and put the visitors in the driving seat once again.
Al Ain restored parity in the 74th minute when Esteghlal’s Pejman Montazeri brought down the hosts’ Ahmed Khalil inside the box. Berg converted the penalty calmly, and Al Ain and Esteghlal shared the spoils.
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