Tractor Sazi slumps to Pakhtakor in AFC Champions League

Iran's professional soccer club Tractor Sazi Tabriz went down to Pakhtakor Tashkent from Uzbekistan at the Tuesday match of the group stage of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

Tractor Sazi suffered a 0-2 loss from Pakhtakor at the end of a Group C match staged at the multi-purpose Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.

The visitors began the match with vim and vigor, and managed to go almost in front within three minutes after the 42-year-old referee Kim Dong-jin gave a short blast on his whistle, and signaled the game start.

The Iranian outfit kept possession of the ball afterward and limited the opponent's chances of scoring until Pakhtakor midfielder Sherzodbek Karimov jumped at an ideal chance in the 26th minute, and rolled the ball to teammate Javokhir Sokhibov.

Sokhibov, however, shot wide from inside the right side of the penalty area.

The host side finally opened the scoring in the 41st minute, when forward Igor Sereev fired off a well-placed shot from just outside the penalty area.

Iranian sportsmen returned to action refreshed and seemingly regained composure in the second half.

Pakhtakor footballers, nevertheless, retook the lead four minutes after the restart and Sergeev controlled Akbarjon Ismatullaev’s long ball and cracked a left foot effort beyond Tractor Sazi goalkeeper Mohammad Reza Akhbari.

Just after the hour mark, Tractor Sazi defender Shoja’ Khalifzadeh latched onto Mohammad Iranpourian’s cross, and forced Pakhtakor Tashkent goalkeeper Nikita Ribkin to pull off a save.

Substitute Tractor Sazi striker Mehdi Sharifi then raced onto to a long ball over the top, but Ribkin was quick to spoil his hopes as the Iranian soccer player closed in on goal.

At last, Tractor Sazi could not find a way past Pakhtakor Tashkent’s stubborn backline and the Uzbek team took all the three points of the match.

“It was a very difficult match. My team played until the last minute and we won an important game. I say thanks to the fans. They supported us very well. We will continue to battle in the tournament,” said Pakhtakor Tashkent coach Numon Khasanov.

He added, “Tractor Sazi is good at the physical side. The season is continuing in Iran and they have good game experience, while we just started our season. We played defensive football in the second half and did not give a chance to our opponent.”

“We were not ready to play 90 minutes of attacking football. This is why we gave attention to defense in the second half. I hope we will be in a good situation in the match in Iran.”

Tractor Sazi coach Amir Ghalenoei said, “I congratulate Pakhtakor for this victory. We dominated in the game, but couldn’t use our moments. We created a lot of chances, especially in the second half.”

“We tried to play closer to Pakhtakor goal. Unfortunately, we could not score a goal. We were better on the field, but my team was not lucky tonight. The players were tired also, because we have played very tough and difficult games.”

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