Tractor Sazi goes down to Al-Hilal in AFC Champions League

Iranian professional soccer club Tractor Sazi Tabriz, also known as Tractor, has slumped to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia at the group stage of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

Tractor Sazi suffered a 1-2 loss from the Riyadh-based team at the end of a Group C fixture staged at the multi-purpose Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in the Omani capital city of Muscat.

The Saudi soccer players started the game with vim and vigor, and availed themselves of the Persians' mistakes within the first few minutes to go almost in front and get close to scoring the opener.

Tractor footballers could establish themselves and brought the game under control.  They sought to penetrate Al-Hilal’s penalty area and tack the opener in the 7th minute, but were disappointed as their efforts failed to yield result.

It was finally Al-Hilal’s 26-year-old midfielder Nawaf al-Abed, who worked his way into the opposite side’s penalty area at the turn of the first quarter, before sending the ball back to teammate Salem al-Dawsari, 24.

Dawsari then controlled the ball and fired a left-foot shot, which went across Tractor goalkeeper Mohammad Reza Akhbari and landed in the far corner.

Tractor footballers then built up pressure on Al-Hilal’s goalpost, and went close to netting the equalizer in the 24th minute, but 32-year-old Cameroonian striker Aloys Bertrand Nong did not manage to level the game.

After the breather, Tractor soccer players played with more vigor and valor. Midfielder Sina Ashoori struck a long ball from the back that 27-year-old Brazilian footballer Rodrigo Junior Paula Silva, commonly known as Digão, cleared with a header.

The ball, however, landed at Nong’s feet and he kicked a left-foot volley from 25 yards that bobbled into the right corner of Fahad al-Thunayyan’s goal.

Tractor footballers exhibited an anemic display later on, and Brazilian Aílton José Almeida found the net for Al-Hilal in the 71st minute and notched up a 2-1 win.

Tractorsazi Tabriz has already booked its place in the knockout stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League with the 2-0 win over Al-Hilal on April 19.

“We played well and faced a strong challenge from Al-Hilal. They wanted to win and they achieved their target. We rested several players in order to avoid injuries as we have already secured our place in the knockout stage,” Tractor’s coach Amir Ghalenoei said after the match.

He added, “The defeat has several advantages as we know the mistakes we need to fix for the next matches. Things will be different in the next round but we should prepare for the best teams. We will have to give our best if we want to continue in the competition.”

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