Sepahan held by Al Ain

AFC – ESFAHAN, Sepahan were held to their second successive draw in the AFC Champions League after a goalless draw with UAE’s Al Ain at Foolad Shahr Stadium on Wednesday.

Sepahan’s Ahmad Jamshidian came closest to scoring with a second-half free-kick in a game where chances were at a premium.

With Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab beating Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor 3-1, Sepahan dropped to third in Group C just a point adrift of Al Shabab and Pakhtakor, with Al Ain propping up the table after picking up their first point of the campaign.

The visitors started well and were the first to threaten after just 10 minutes when Ali Al Wehaibi just failed to get his foot onto a free-kick.

Al Ain created another chance soon after when Al Wehaibi’s low cross was flicked goalwards by Mohamed Siddiq and goalkeeper Seyed Mahdi Rahmati did well to push the ball back into the area where skipper Jorge Valdiva saw his shot charged down by the Sepahan defence.

But Armando Sa should have opened the scoring for Sepahan when he broke down the right before cutting inside the area but, with plenty of space to shoot, the veteran defender struck a low effort straight into the hands of goalkeeper Waleed Salem.

Hadi Aghily headed over for the hosts in the 35th minute before Jamshidian glanced a header into the hands of Salem soon after, while at the other end a tame effort from South Korean Lee Ho went well wide.

The Sepahan defence was statuesque shortly before the break when Al Wehaibi was allowed to shoot unmarked but fortunately for the hosts the midfielder shot wide.

Mahdi Jafarpoursorkhi also fired wide from a tight angle just after the break before he took too long with his shot when well-placed and his attempt was charged down by the Al Ain defence.

Al Ain had failed to appear after the break but finally created their first chance just after the hour mark but Jose Sand took one touch too many and his shot was put behind for a corner by Mohsen Bengar.

Salem kept Al Ain in the game when he superbly palmed away Jamshidian’s 69th minute free-kick after Lee had hauled down Mehdi Karimian just outside the area.

Jamshidian continued to prove Sepahan’s most dangerous player and he hooked a shot just over the bar with 10 minutes remaining but despite the home side dominating possession in the final few minutes, Sepahan were unable to find a way through the Al Ain defence.