Tractor beat Al Khaldiya to advance ACL Two quarterfinals [VIDEO]
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Loading...TT – TEHRAN, Tractor booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 following a 3-3 draw with Bahrain’s Al Khaldiya in their Round of 16, 2nd leg tie on Tuesday.
The Iran side advanced 5-4 on aggregate to set up a last-eight clash with either Al Wakrah SC of Qatar or Saudi Arabia’s Al Taawoun FC.
Al Khaldiya had to endure pressure from the start with Tractor’s Ricardo Alves threatening with a header in the fourth minute following Danial Esmaeilifar’s cross into the box.
The Bahraini side continued to repel Tractor’s advances following attempts from Igor Postonjski and Tomislav Strkalj.
However, Tractor found a way through in the 15th minute after Mehdi Torabi released Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, who muscled his way past his marker before slotting home the opener.
Al Khaldiya had their first sight on goal in the 19th minute after Jovan Marinkovic angled his headed attempt just wide off the left post following Dhurgham Ismail’s corner.
Tractor doubled their advantage in the 32nd minute after Al Khaldiya keeper Mohammad Al Gharably could only Hosseinzadeh’s close-range attempt, with Strkalj volleying home the rebound into the bottom right corner.
Al Khaldiya made a triple substitution just before the half-time break, bringing on Nizar Al Rashdan, Salaah Al Yahyaei, and Mahdi Abduljabbar.
The decision paid off handsomely, as Abduljabbar reduced the deficit in the 57th minute, converting Al Yahyaei’s cutback, before the forward netted again, capitalizing on a poor pass from Tractor captain Shoja Khalilzadeh to Alireza Beiranvand to finish with a simple tap in.
Tractor came back fighting and retook the lead in the 71st minute after Al Gharably blocked Strkalj’s shot from inside the box, only for Torabi to convert the rebound.
Al Khaldiya, however, equalized for the second time after Mohamed Al Romaihi headed in Al Yahyaei’s cross in the third minute of added time, but it was not enough as Tractor punched their ticket into the quarter-finals.
