Tough to take away goals defeat: Faraki

AFC – AHVAZ, Foolad Khouzestan coach Hossein Faraki was left disappointed after his team’s attempt at a remarkable late comeback against Al Sadd fell just short as they were eliminated from the AFC Champions League on away goals after a 2-2 draw with the Qatari side on Wednesday.

Having drawn 0-0 in the first leg in Doha, Foolad made a poor start in front of their own fans at Ghadir Stadium as Al Sadd stormed into a 2-0 lead with goals by Nadir Belhadj and Khalfan Ibrahim in the opening half-hour.

The home side hit back after Al Sadd defender Abdelkarim Hassan was sent off with 14 minutes left as Chimba scored twice to level the aggregate score at 2-2. But with Omid Khaledi heading against the woodwork in stoppage time, the Iranian side bowed out of the tournament despite not losing any of their eight games.

“What happened in the match was tough for us as we were beaten by away goals,” said Faraki.

“But that is football is and we are now eliminated from the competition although we were not defeated.

“We equalised against a team which has experienced and professional players with very big contracts,” he added. “Our players lost because of their inexperience and amateurism.

“We didn’t value our chances and that helped our opponent to get past us.”