AFC Champions League Two™ 2024/25 - Ali applauds Al Wehdat’s fighting spirit; Omidian rues missed chances

Doha: Raafat Ali praised his Al Wehdat’s side’s nerves of steel after the Jordanian club secured a place in the AFC Champions League Two™ 2024/25 knockout stage with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Islamic Republic of Iran’s Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC on Tuesday.

The result took Al Wehdat to 11 points and confirmed a top-two finish in Group C with a match to spare.

#ACLTwo | Group C: Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan SC (IRN) 1-1 Al Wehdat SC (JOR)

“We endured great pressure for the sake of Al Wehdat Club, and I thank the players for the great fighting spirit they showed,” said Ali. “Just one week was like a whole year of hard work for this moment.

"Sepahan are a big and well-established team, but we knew how to deal with them in this tournament.”

The Jordanian side’s qualification came on the back of an all-around effort that Ali was proud to acknowledge.

“The result of the match was due to the great effort by the club's management, players and technical staff.

“Now we have turned the page on the match with Sepahan and will focus on the next match against Sharjah in Amman.”

Sepahan head coach Jalal Omidian expressed frustration over his team’s inability to secure victory – which left the Iranian side three points behind second-placed Sharjah ahead of the final matchday.

“I’m really upset about what happened. We deserved to win the game,” said Omidian.

“The job is not over. We need to perform at our best in the next game to qualify into the next round.”

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