Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Foolad Khouzestan coach Dragan Skokic blamed misfortune for his side’s defeat at the hands of Qatar’s Al Sadd as the Iranian side exited the 2015 AFC Champions League on Tuesday with one round of group matches remaining.
The Iranians remain bottom of Group C with one game to play after Brazilian striker Muriqui scored the only goal of the game to ensure the 2011 champions joined Al Hilal in advancing to the Round of 16.
Muriqui’s goal came late in the first half and, although Foolad created chances of their own, there was little they could do to deny the Qatari champions a place in the next round.
ACL MD5 – Group C: Al Sadd 1-0 Foolad Khouzestan
“I was hoping to avoid defeat and win the match in order to maintain our chances to remain in the competition, but our opponents played with great determination and denied us from scoring on several occasions,” said the Croatian (pictured).
“The match was hard for the two sides and we tried our best in the second period to score but the players were not lucky as they couldn’t convert the chances that they created.
“But the competition was good for us and I hope the players will have gained a lot of experience for the future.”
Al Sadd join Al Hilal on 10 points from their first five games in the group stage and the two sides will go head-to-head on Matchday Six to determine who will top the group.
“We achieved our target by winning the match and securing our place in the knockout stage with one match to play,” said Lhoussaine Ammouta, whose club also met Al Hilal in the quarter-finals of the last year’s AFC Champions League.
“The match was not easy because we played a strong team and we are glad that we won despite missing some of our key players.
“I always remind the players not to lose concentration and to avoid easy mistakes that would allow our opponents to score. We successfully defended our lead and achieved our target by getting the three points.”
Photo: WSG