Ahvaz: Iranian side Foolad Khouzestan qualified for the Round of 16 in only their second AFC Champions League campaign after a 3-1 victory over Qatar’s Eljaish crowned them as Group B winners yesterday.
A draw was the minimum Khouzestan needed from their home tie with Eljaish but after going behind to Nilmar’s opener on 10 minutes they responded with an acrobatic leveler from captain Bahktiar Rahmani on 23 minutes and the go-ahead goal from Gholam Rezaei eight minutes.
Substitute Chimba’s fine strike in stoppage time was an extra bonus for the newly-crowned Iran Pro League champions, who had exited at the group stages of their AFC Champions League debut in 2006, and they remain undefeated in this year’s continental competition. Victory for either side would take them through to the knockout stages as winners of Group B, and it was the visitors who drew first blood through the prolific forward Nilmar 10 minutes into the game.
In another match, Qatar’s Al Rayyan lost to UAE’s Al Jazira 3-2.
A late own goal by Cho Yong Hyung settled a five-goal thriller as Al Jazira closed in on the last 16 of the AFC Champions League with a 3-2 away win over Qatari side Al Rayyan on Wednesday.
In a see-saw affair at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium, Abdelaziz Barrada put the visitors with a superb free-kick just before half-time only to see Al Rayyan take the lead within eight minutes of the restart with a Yakubu penalty and a header by Musa Haroon.
The Peninsula
