Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: A late winner from Igor Sergeev saw Pakhtakor get their AFC Champions League campaign off to winning ways as the Uzbekistan champions edged out tournament debutants Naft Tehran of Iran 2-1 on Tuesday at Pakhtakor Stadium.
After a goalless first half in the Group B opener, hosts Pakhtakor took the lead on the 48th minute through captain Kakhi Makharadze before Sherzodbek Karimov, who had provided the assist for the opener, received a red card shortly after.
Naft made full use of the man advantage and on 59 minutes Ali Ghorbani rifled home only for Sergeev to net the winner with five minutes remaining.
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The hosts got into their stride straight from the kick-off, attacking with gusto in the opening periods, and could have gone ahead inside the first five minutes.
Adnan Orahovac’s thumping shot from just inside the penalty area crashed against Alireza Beiranvand’s crossbar and the Naft goalkeeper was fortunate to claim the rebound.
Eventually, though, the Iran Pro League side were able to weather the early Pakhtakor storm and began to create chances of their own.
Mehdi Shiri drilled a shot wide from inside the right-hand side of the penalty area shortly after the half-hour mark before Iman Mobali had a flashing header well-saved by Alexander Lobanov.
And Lobanov was again to the fore just before half-time as his leapt in to block Ghorbani’s shot as the Naft forward looked to pull the trigger when sent through with a ball over the top.
But Naft’s first-half momentum was disrupted after just three minutes of the second period as Karimov was allowed to cut inside from the right wing and dink a cross into the penalty area where Makharadze had ghosted past his marker to nod the ball past the charging Beiranvand.
Karimov, though, went from hero to zero in quick succession as he received his marching orders just minutes later after an off-the-ball incident that involved Naft defender Vahid Hamdinejad.
And it got worse for Pakhtakor on 59 minutes as Naft found an equalizer, with defender Egor Krimets failing to deal with a long ball over the top allowing Ghorbani to curl a precise left-footed finish around Lobanov.
Chances at either end swiftly followed with Sergeev flashing an acrobatic effort narrowly wide and then Vladimir Kozak’s free-kick from the right evading defenders and attackers alike to zip narrowly wide of Beiranband’s right-hand post.
But with five minutes remaining, the 10-man side again took the lead as Beiranvand could only palm out a ferocious long-range free-kick and Sergeev was on hand to follow up the rebound and fire home from inside the six-yard box to give Pakhtakor all three points.
Photo: WSG