Action during the match between Al Shamal and Tractor FC in Muscat yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Al Shamal and Tractor FC played out a goalless draw in their AFC Champions League Elite clash at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat yesterday.
The stalemate sees Iran’s Tractor picking up their first point in the League Stage while Al Shamal of Qatar settled for a second consecutive draw in their debut campaign.
It was a cagey start with neither team able to gain a foothold on the game although Al Shamal enjoyed a lot more possession. In the 15th minute, there was a half-chance for the visitors when Ben Romdhane collected the ball on the left flank and tried to find Federico Bais in the box, only for Tractor goalkeeper Parsa Jafari to read the situation.
As the first half progressed, Tractor started to get a grip on the game but their best effort was only a Shojae Khalilzadeh header in the 35th minute from Farshad Faraji’s long throw which bounced harmlessly into the grasp of Babacar Seck.
The intensity improved after the interval as both teams went in search of the breakthrough.
Yousouf Sabaly set up Bais for a rasping shot from outside the box in the 53rd minute which Jafari had to react fast to push over the bar.
At the other end, Seck produced a brilliant double stop four minutes later, a strong right hand to parry Mohammd Naderi’s fierce drive before putting his body on the line to stop Danial Esmaelifar’s point-blank follow-up.
Al Shamal had chances to snatch a late winner with Romdhane stopped by a superb Faraji sliding challenge, then Michael Termanini drove into the box only to drag his shot wide and in the end, both teams had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Later at Al Rayyan’s Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, Esteghlal FC edged Qatar’s Al Gharafa SC 2-1 to secure their second win.
Ferjani Sassi’s 48th-minute goal cancelled out a stunning strike by Jasir Asani in the first half before Hossein Goudarzi’s 60th-minute winner ensured the Islamic Republic of Iran outfit finished with another three points.
Both sides took their time to settle, with Esteghlal edging possession and Saman Fallah’s off-tangent header off a corner in the 12th minute their first look at goal.
Al Gharafa's Seydou Sano controls the ball.
Another corner at the opposing end in the 21st minute gave the home side their chance to threaten, with Seydou Sano rising high in the box but nodding wide of the left post.
There were no shots on target in the first half hour, but Asani made sure that the Iran Pro League side’s first strike in the 37th minute mattered when he came down the right and unleashed a spectacular 20-yard shot that dipped beyond Ahmad Kone’s fingertips and into the top left. Kone made a superb save from Saeid Saharkhizan four minutes into stoppage time while Habib Abbasi denied Al Gharafa’s first on-target attempts through Adam Ounas and Abdulrahman Faiz Al Rashidi to close the half.
The Qatar outfit’s strong start to the second half paid off three minutes in when Sassi emerged from a pack of bodies inside the Esteghlal box to side-foot past Abbasi for the equaliser.
Esteghlal, however, took advantage of slack goalkeeping by Kone in the 60th minute to regain the lead when Goudarzi was given too much space on the left and struck from range, his shot bouncing off the custodian’s palms and rolling into the bottom left.
Saharkhizan saw his shot deflect off midfielder Ayoub Aloui in front of goal in the 79th minute while Abbasi made himself big to block Alaa Hasan’s point-blank effort five minutes later and Rustamjon Ashurnatov cleared off the line from Aloui to consign Al Gharafa to their second defeat.
