Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tehran: Jasim Mohammed and substitute Mardek Mardkian each scored as Iraq’s Nafit Al Wasat secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol in Group B of the AFC Cup on Tuesday
Forward Mohammed put Nafit in front on the stroke of half-time at PAS Ghavamin Stadium before Mardkian rounded off the scoring 20 minutes from time
Nafit are now in a strong position in Group B having picked up two wins from three games in the continental competition ahead of April’s return match in Tajikistan
“This was a valuable win for us as we now have six points and I think now we have a very good chance of qualifying from this group as a winner or a runner-up,” said Nafit coach Hamza El Gamal.
“It was a technical game; we knew Istiklol had strong wingers so we decided to use deep balls behind their defence and as you saw we scored both goals thanks to this strategy.
“We should have scored five or six goals. We still lack the cutting edge in front of goal, but I’m satisfied with the result.”
After dominating the first half, Nafit finally took the lead in stoppage time when Mohammed was on hand to bundle the ball home from just outside the six yard area after Tamer Hag’s low cross from the left.
But five minutes after the restart the away side could have leveled the score when Davronjon Ergashev’s header went just wide.
Nafit’s Amjed Waleed then should have scored on the hour, but his effort was cleared off the line by Iranian defender Mahdi Chahouyi.
And with the 2015 AFC Cup runners-up Istiklol chasing the equaliser, forward Mardkian raced through to slot under goalkeeper Nikola Stosic to seal a deserved win for Nafit.
“We came here for a win, but unfortunately the game didn’t go in our way,” said Istiklol coach Mubin Ergashev.
“We had good start to the game and created a couple of chances, but as we approached the end of the game our players didn’t match them physically.
“I hope we can make up for this in the next game as I believe we have still the chance of qualifying from this group.”