Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: Pakhtakor got their AFC Champions League campaign back on track as a pair of late goals lifted the Uzbek side to a 3-1 victory over Al Arabi of Qatar on Wednesday.
Sherzod Karimov's fortuitous early goal at the Jar Stadium was cancelled out when Leonardo Pisculichi capitalised on a defensive error to level the score late in the first half.
But Dilshod Sharofetdinov netted his second goal in as many games to put the hosts back ahead in the 74th minute before Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov sealed victory with his side's third in stoppage time.
With the win, Pakhtakor moved up to four points and back into contention for a spot in the last 16 of the competition. But for Al Arabi, it was a third straight defeat and it left them as the only side still yet to manage a point in this year's competition.
Pakhtakor got off to a great start and took the lead after only nine minutes. Karimov attempted to cross the ball from the right flank towards Abdukholiqov but the ball was missed by the striker and an Al Arabi defender and floated instead into the far corner of the net.
The Qatari side rarely threatened in the opening half but they got back on level terms in the 37th minute after an error by defender Aleksey Nikolaev on the edge of his box.
The ball was played to him by goalkeeper Alexander Lobanov and he tried to beat Boualem Khoukhi but only succeeded in coughing up possession to the Al Arabi player who squared the ball for Pisculichi to fire home the equaliser.
The hosts continued to control play after the equaliser but they were continually frustrated by the Al Arabi defence and the woodwork, which kept out Stanislav Andreev's free-kick.
But their pressure would finally be rewarded with 16 minutes left as Andreev's long throw was headed onto the Al Arabi crossbar by Hadi Aghily and fell nicely for substitute Sharofetdinov to sweep the ball home.
Abdukholiqov sealed the victory in stoppage time when the ball was flicked on to him by Kakhi Makharadze in the centre circle and he ran clear of two defenders before lashing a low shot past goalkeeper Rajab Hamza.
Al Arabi coach Pierre Lechantre felt that fatigue in the closing minutes was the undoing of his side.
"It was a very good game for us for the first 75 minutes but Pakhtakor showed their class at the end," the Frenchman said.
"We were tired by the end and Pakhtakor were able to capitalise at the end. In Qatar, we don't play many games against teams of this quality and so we made a lot of mistakes and that is why we lost tonight."
Meanwhile, Pakhtakor coach Dejan Durdevic was delighted with his side's first win in this year's tournament.
"We scored a very fast goal at the beginning of the game but after that we made lot of mistakes and allowed Al Arabi to get back into it," he said.
"It was disappointing to allow the equaliser but we felt that our players could play at a higher level and in the second half, we played better football.
"It was an important result for us because if didn't get a win tonight, it would have made it very hard to qualify for the next round."