Pakhtakor in quarterfinals

Al Ahli 0 Pakhtakor 1

Al Ahli went out of the Asian Champions league after they were defeated 1-0 by Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan in the second leg match held at Rashid stadium at the Al Ahli Club Wednesday night.

A crowd of 10,000 supporters were behind the home team following their fine performance in the first round.

Al Ahli, who entered the match in a must situation, had lost 2-3 in the first leg held at Tashkant two weeks ago.

Pakhtakor hit the match-winner through substitute Kassimov one minute after his entrance in the 73rd minute. This made things difficult for Ahli players, who gave up in the last 15 minutes as Pakhtakor dominated the game and could have scored more. However, they were not in need of more goals, because one goal was sufficient to put them in the quarterfinals.

Al Ahli began attacking from the word go in order to secure the all-important goal they needed to qualify. But the Pakhtakor defence, led by strong defender Ashourmatov, was tough facing Ahli strikers.

Though they succeeded in going past them on many occasions, they lacked the final touch and sharpness infront of the Pakhtakor goal.

In the second minute Hasan Ali fired a powerful shot which was saved by the Uzbek keeper Nesterov. Genrych responded for Pakhtakor in the 12th minute with a direct free-kick from outside the box, Ahli custodian Ali Saeed tipped it to the corner. A minute later, Karimi lost a golden chance to score when his weak lob was saved by the advancing Pakhtakor keeper.

Ahli continued pressing with Qazimyan losing a good chance and Salim Khamis passed to Adel Abdul Aziz facing the goal, but shot wide. Salim Khamis lost another chance in the 28th minute when facing the Pakhtakor goal following a rebound, his shot went just near the upright.

Saudi Arabian referee Abdul Rahman Al Zaid denied Al Ahli of a clear penalty kick when Karimi was brought down inside the box by Pakhtakor defender, but the referee instead of awarding the penalty kick, he showed Karimi the yellow card thinking that the Iranian was trying to fool him.

The Pakhtakor defence cleared the ball before it reached Qazimyan in front of the goal and Karimi went past four defenders, but couldn't control the ball when facing Nesterov three minutes before the break.

Al Ahli resumed attacking after the half-time with Hasan Ali, who lost two scoring chances in quick succession.

The Uzbek team didn't rely on defence only, they had their chances through Sulyaiv and Kushilyaiv, but Ahli defence did well in clearing both away.

Kushilyaiv fired a free-kick saved by Ali Saeed with difficulty before Kassimov came on in the 73rd minute.

One minute later he scored the winner following an error by Ahli defenders and goalkeeper when they failed to clear a corner. Kassimov fired a left-footer from outside the penalty area that beat Ali Saeed to his left at the far corner of the net despite six of Ahli defenders present inside the box at that time.

Pakhtakor played with confidence after they scored the winner while Al Ahli players lacked the fighting spirit in the last 15 minutes.

Ahli coach Srecko made three substitutions by bringing in Faisal Khalil, Shihab Abdullah, Yousuf Atiq, to add more power to the frontline, but in vain. Only Shihab tried in the last minute, but his attempt was saved to the corner by Nesterov.