Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Doha: Substitute Geilson scored in the dying minutes of the game to earn Iranian side Tractorsazi a share of the points in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Qatar’s El Jaish at the Al Rayyan Stadium in Group A of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
Geilson (Geílson de Carvalho Soares) came off the bench to head home in stoppage time just minutes after Wagner Ribeiro (Wagner Renan Ribeiro) looked to have given hosts El Jaish all three points with a well-taken left-footed effort.
“We got a valuable point tonight as this away draw will help our chances to continue to the knockout stage,” said Tractorsazi coach Antonio Oliveira. “The two sides had an entertaining match although we made several mistakes and we paid forthese.
“Our plan was to control the ball and go through the middle of the defence but the plan was not complete. The group is balanced and the next match will be very important for us if we want to continue competing in the group.”
The dramatic finale came in a pulsating game in which Tractorsazi led twice, only for El Jaish to twice peg them back before going in front in the 87th minute through Wagner Ribeiro.
Flávio Paixão had given the Iranian side the lead in the 24th minute but Wagner Ribeiro’s 35th minute goal ensured the teams went in level at halftime while Mehdi Seyed Salehi put Tractorsazi in front once again only for Adriano (Adriano Ferreira Martins) to equalise from the penalty spot.
El Jaish started the brighter, with Wagner Ribeiro (pictured) forcing Mehdi Sabeti into action with an on-target header and Adriano firing straight at the Iranian goalkeeper with an acrobatic effort soon after.
But despite the home side having the better of the opening exchanges, it was Tractorsazi who took the lead in the 24th minute when Javad Kazemeyan’s cross found Flávio Paixão, who beat team mate Salehi to the ball to head home.
The lead, though, was only to last 11 minutes as the Qataris hit Tractorsazi on the break with Mahir Yusuf surging through the middle before sliding the ball into the path of Wagner Ribeiro, who slotted the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs to score.
With five minutes remaining in the half, Abolghasem Dehnavi saw his long-range attempt pushed over the El Jaish bar by Ahmed Sofyan while at the other end Mohd Methani’s header was pushed round the post by Sabeti while Adriano’s effort on the stroke of half time came back off the woodwork with the goalkeeper beaten.
Five minutes after the restart, however, Tractorsazi were back in front when Salehi scored with a weak left-footed effort that somehow found its way into the far corner of Sofyan’s goal.
But Adriano was given the opportunity to pull his team level again from the penalty spot in the 67th minute, and he made no mistake, beating Sabeti to his right with a well-placed effort.
With three minutes remaining, Wagner Ribeiro thought he had done enough to give El Jaish their first win of the campaign with a fine effort that found the top corner of Sabeti’s goal but Sofyan was unable to stop Geilson’s header from crossing the line and the Iranians went home with a point for their efforts.
“I’m happy with the performance of the team although we conceded the equaliser in the last minutes and we lost the chance to win the match and get three points which could have helped us more in the group,” said El Jaish coach Razvan Lucescu.
“We deserved a better result tonight and one of the positives was that we managed to comeback after being behind twice and this is good. The match was entertaining and hopefully the players will get more confidence in the next matches.”
Photo: WSG