Sports > Football > SEPAHAN ONE STEP AWAY FROM ACL QUARTER FINALS BY AFSHIN DASTAFSHAN
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Sepahan’s achievements in the Asian Champions League (ACL) qualifiers has surpassed expectations by a mile as the sole Iranian representative in the competition retained their lead in Group D qualifiers ahead of Saudi Champions Al Shabab albeit by the virtue of head-to-head results. With only one match left to play and Saudi’s Al Shabab also wining their match 5 against Al Ain of UAE Sepahan and Al Shabab are once again level on points, the two sides will meet in Group D final qualifying match in Esfahan on May 23rd; Sepahan need a draw to qualify for the quarter finals.
Sepahan had hopes as well as concerns over this match against Al Hilal having to beat them on Syrian soil; on the negative side Iranian clubs failed to beat their Syrian counterparts in last season’s ACL, Al Hilal had not lost at home in this tournament, Sepahan had only earned 1 point in their last two ACL matches, Navidkia was still injured and head coach Luka Bonacic had dropped their number one goal keeper Armenak Petrosiyan on disciplinary grounds. On the positive side Sepahan won their Persian Gulf League match 4-0 against Esteghlal of Ahvaz last week with striker Emad reza scoring a hat-trick while Al Hilal entered the match on the back of poor results in the Syrian league which saw their archrivals Al Karama lifting the league title in Syria. Sepahan FC used a chartered flight and travelled directly from Esfahan to Syria.
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With Al Shabab taking on Al Ain after Sepahan’s match had ended the Iranian side had to win and put the pressure on Al Shabab to follow suit. Sepahan went on the attack from the word go and could have taken the lead early in the first half but Hadi Aghili failed to convert a penalty kick with the Syrian keeper Karkar diving the right way and pushing the ball out for a corner; I cannot help wondering why Sepahan use a defender as their first choice penalty taker rather than attacking players!
Sepahan took the lead shortly after with Emad Reza scoring a fantasic goal from an acute angle firing the ball to the roof of the net, this time Karkar did not see the ball until it was in the back of his net. Sepahan onslaught continued with Nouri adding a second for the Persians, the first half ended 2-0. Al Hilal had no say in this match but they made an effort in the second half and attacked Sepahan as best they could, however Sepahan punished them with counter-attacks scoring 3 more goals in the second half with the match ending 5-0, Emad Reza scored his second hat-trick in two weeks, Nouri scored a double, Seyeh Salehi provided two of the assists.
Whilst the 5-0 win gives Sepahan reason to celebrate they should not be too content with this outcome as the real battle is yet to come when they face Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia on May 23rd. This was Al Hilal’s poorest performance of the campaign and the score line is partly a reflection of that, Al Hilal’s failure to win the Syrian league had affected the team’s morale no doubt, there were very few fans in the stadium, Al Hilal fans had clearly lost interest in ACL with their club standing no chance of qualifying to the next round. Taking a closer look at the match I am concerned about numerous clear cut chances Sepahan wasted in front of the goal, the more powerful Al Shabab are much more likely to punish Sepahan for such missed opportunities.
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Al Shabab played another good game against Al Ain in match 5, they remain the strongest side in the group and have played the best football, their passing and smooth flowing football has been superior to the other three teams but Al Shabab too have had problems finishing scoring opportunities they have so nicely created. Sepahan need to play a well planned and well organised game against Al Shabab. Head coach Luka Bonacic has planned his ACL games well and done his home work on his opponents so far, at times he has been less than satisfied with his players’ efforts and that includes at practice sessions. Sepahan are one solid performance away from ACL quarter finals; the scene is set for a make or break encounter between Sepahan and Al Shabab on May 23rd.
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