DEFEATING ZOB AHAN 3-0 IN ISFAHAN …. AL AIN ANNOUNCES THEIR OFFICIAL QUALIFICATION TO 16TH ROUND OF AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Al Ain FC has already reserved their seat in the 16th Round of the AFC Champions League for the 8th time in its history following beating the Iranian Zob Ahan Isfahan by 3-0. The match was held at Foulad Shahr Stadium in Isfahan as part of the 5th round- C Group of the AFC Champions League.
Al Ain scored through Danilo Asprilla 25, Omar Abdul Rahman 60, and Mohamed Abdul Rahman 81.
The Boss moved forward to occupy the top spot of Group C table with 9 points against 8 points for Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli, 7 points for Zob Ahan, while Bunyodkor in the last spot of the group with 3 points.
Al Ain looked quite confused in the beginning due the high pressure exerted by the hosts since the early minutes of the game in their attempts to score their lead goal, but Al Ain players showed unmatched cohesion against the flood of the Iranian team’s constant attacks.
As the time passes, Al Ain regained their spirit and came back to the match atmosphere and had a holdover the maneuvers area. By this, Al Ain was able to take the lead by the goal scored in the 25th minute by the Colombian Danilo Asprilla when he shot a powerful ball from inside the box.
Sri Lankan referee, Hettikamkanamge, canceled a goal scored by Al Ain player, Yousef Ahmed, in the 32nd minute due to offside.
Khaled Issa continued his significant performance and dealt with the penalty kick 45+2 by the Venezuelan professional, Jerry Bengtson, following the decision taken by the referee who pointed to the penalty point when the ball touched the hand of the defender Ismail Ahmed.
The second half witnessed strong performance by the Iranian team who had chances to score in Al Ain’s net in more than one opportunity. However, the defense line and the goalkeeper Khalid Issa, who continued to shine in the match, made it impossible for the opponent to score their draw goal.
At the time when Zob Ahan was in control of the match, Omar Abdul Rahman skillfully maneuvered the Iranian defense before putting the ball to the left of goalkeeper Mazhari, scoring the second goal in 60th minute.
Mohammed Abdul Rahman “Ajab” fired the mercy shot at the Iranian team, scoring the third goal in the 81st minute with a powerful shot from inside the penalty area.
In the next round on 8th May 2017, Al Ain team will host the Uzbek Bunyodkor Team at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, while Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli will host Zob Ahan at Thani Bin Jasem Stadium in Doha with the ambition to win the second card to qualify to knock out stage.
Al Ain 3
Goals: Daniela Esperilla 25, Omar Abdul Rahman 60, Mohamed Abdul Rahman 81
Starting Line-Up: Khaled Essa, Khaled Abdul Rahman, Mohannad Salem Al Enazi, Ismail Ahmed, Salim Al Azizi, Lee Myung Goo, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, Omar Abdul Rahman, Caio Lucas, Danilo Asprilla and Yousif Ahmed Mousa.
Substitutes: Ahmed Berman substituted Yusuf Ahmed “57”; Rashid Muhair substituted Khalid Abdul Rahman “67” and Daoud Ali substituted Mohammed Abdul Rahman “82”.
Yellow Cards: Ismail Ahmed “42” and Ahmed Berman “88”.
Red Cards: None
Zob Ahan:
Goals: 0
Starting Line-up: Mezheri, Hagfredi, Nejad Mehdi, Mohamed Zadah, Diracchanfar, Mohamed Hosseini, Mehdipur, Isma’ilievar, Pahlavan, Bengtson, Tabrizi.
Substitutes: Rajab Zadah substituted Hagfredi “63”, Abassi substituted Pahlavan “86” and Atteyyah substituted Bengtson “86”.
Yellow Cards: Diracchanfar 20, Najad Mahdi 53, Tabrizi 77.
Red Cards: None
Referees
Sri Lankan referee, Hettikamkanamge was the referee of the game. The two Sri Lankan assistant referees were Palya Namal and Dinai Balitha. The fourth official was Varshani Rajaratnam. The match observer was Srinivasan Suresh from India and the referee observer was Islamof Daval Mand from Tajikistan.
