Sports > Football > SEPAHAN QUALIFY FOR ASIAN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL BY AFSHIN DASTAFSHAN
Sepahan Pride of Persia
|
| |
|
Sepahan of Esfahan became the first Iranian club to qualify for Asian Champions League (ACL) final after overcoming Al Wahda of UAE in the semi final. Having won their home tie 3-1 Sepahan produced a professional performance in the return leg forcing a goalless draw to qualify for the final, Sepahan will meet Japan’s Urawa Reds in Esfahan on November 7th in the first leg of ACL final; the return leg will follow a week later in Japan on November 14th. Urawa Reds had a tough encounter with South Korea’s Seongnam Chunma in the semis; with both legs of the semi ending in 2-2 draws the match was settled in a penalty shoot out with Urawa Reds winning 5-3.
Sepahan’s Croat head coach Luka Bonacic once again proved his ability to plan his game and outdo his opposite number, Sepahan players entered the pitch in the right frame of mind knowing what they had to do, they handled the intimidating atmosphere which Al Wahda had created for them with ease, only 650 Iranian fans were allowed into the stadium, Iranian fans had not been allowed to take loudspeakers into the stadium with them, interestingly though stadium speakers were used to chant and support Al Wahda throughout the match! Sepahan were not provided with appropriate training facilities during their stay in UAE, on the plus side it was good to see an Australian referee had been chosen for the match and not an Arab.
Al Wahda needed to win this match 2-0, were Sepahan to score an away goal then Al Wahda would have required to score 4 times to win 4-1, the pressure was therefore on the hosts. Al Wahda had more of the possession in the first half but failed to get through Sepahan defence not mentioning their on-form goalkeeper Abbas Mohammadi. Indeed the best two chances of the first half fell to Sepahan with Hajisafi and Karimi coming close to scoring but the first the half ended 0-0.
|
Both sides upped the tempo in the second half and had clear-cut chances to score. Once again as in the quarter finals against Kawasaki Sepahan keeper Abbas Mohammadi made several crucial saves to keep Al Wahda out, should Mohammadi continue to perform the way he has been then Team Melli would also benefit from his services. The captain Navidkia did brilliantly once again and was closely marked, defender Aghili returned from injury and started the match, Sepahan ACL top scorer Seyed Salehi came on as a sub having recovered from a knee operation, however Salehi did not appear to be match ready and wasn’t effective. Bonacic once again showed his courage to introduce new and young players to the team and brought in Khuzestani youngster Mohsen Hamidi in the second half, Hamidi showed his technical ability with his ball control in the penalty area late in the match and came close to scoring, he is another Sepahan player with a bright future. It should be noted that Bonacic introduced the 18 year old Hussein Papi to ACL in the group stage, Papi scored for Sepahan against Al Ain of UAE in ACL on his debute.
Sepahan gained valuable experience of playing a Japanese club at quarter final stage of this year’s ACL when they knocked out Kawasaki Frontale, Kawasaki proved a tough opponent, they had pace and were a professional side, more of the same is expected from Urawa Reds, Sepahan will be looking to contain Urawa Reds’ pace and impose their will on the speed and flow of the game. Sepahan continue to defy all odds in ACL, they are now 2 matches away from lifting ACL trophy, Urawa Reds will no doubt be looking at Sepahan’s win over Kawasaki trying to learn from their fellow Japanese side’s defeat, Bonacic at the same time has shown he always has some new tricks up his sleeves. We wish Sepahan all the best in ACL final, Sepahan Pride of Persia.
|
|
|
|
