Esteghlal coach unhappy with AFC schedule

GOAL – QARSHI, Esteghlal coach Parviz Mazloumi has expressed his displeasure at the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) scheduling of the final day of AFC Champions League (ACL) fixtures with his side’s clash not being played simultaneously with the other group game.

The second-placed Tehran giants face Nasaf Qarshi almost 90 minutes before third-placed Al Rayyan play host to group leaders Al Jazira.

Ahead of kickoff, Al Rayyan can still qualify for the knockout stage and will know exactly what they need to do, if Esteghlal fail to win.

Typically, live final day games in international qualifiers or league matches are played simultaneously, however the AFC’s failure to make such an arrangement for matchday six left Mazloumi frustrated.

“I am unhappy that this match is not kicking off at the same time as the other game between Al Rayyan and Al Jazira,” Mazloumi told reporters.

“As our match will finish much earlier, the other teams will know what result they may need in order to progress.”

Tuesday’s fixtures also saw the same situation arise for other teams with Buriram United’s clash with Guangzhou Evergrande affected after the Thai club were mathematically knocked out earlier in the evening following Kashiwa Reysol’s win at Jeonbuk Motors.

Persepolis’s clash with Al Shabab was also played two hours ahead of their other group game on Tuesday, between Al Hilal and Al Gharafa with the Qatari side a mathematical chance to progress before the Reds’ 3-1 win which was a situation which left many onlookers and officials frustrated.

Mazloumi continued that despite a draw likely to be enough, his side would chase victory against Nasaf Qarshi, who have only claimed one point so far.

“We know that we only need one point to qualify for the next round but we will try everything to win the match,” he said.

“We do not intend to play for a draw because that would be dangerous as a team playing for a draw usually ends up losing the game.”

He added: “Even though Nasaf have only one point so far, they are still a very strong team. We know that because we played against them in Tehran when we drew 0-0 and they did very well.

“They will also be determined to get the three points tomorrow because they are playing at home and they will want to win in their final game in front of their own fans.”

Meanwhile, Nasaf boss Ruziqul Berdiev said he hoped his side’s difficult debut in the ACL would provide a learning curve for his side in future editions.

“It is our last game in the tournament this year but I do not think it is our last appearance in the AFC Champions League,” he said.

“Hopefully, we can qualify again next year and we will take our good experience from here and try to do better when we return to the competition again.”