MVP Hadi happy to survive DPR

AFC – DOHA, Iran defender Hadi Aghily celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday in the best possible manner as helped his side to a 1-0 win over DPR Korea which sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League.

Aghily gave a superb display at the heart of the Team Melli defence to frustrate DPR Korea as Karim Ansari Fard’s second-half strike stood up as the only goal in the Group D encounter at Qatar Sports Club Stadium.

While Aghily was rewarded with the game’s Most Valuable Player award, it was the three points from the win that the Sepahan player treasured most.

“I feel good about the result,” the centre-back said. “It was a tough game because DPR Korea play very tight with a compact defence and they counter-attack very well.

“Today, we also played a counter-attacking game but it was difficult to play against them because they have good attacking players. Their defence is not very quick but they come back well and they defend well in numbers,” he added.