Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tehran: Zob Ahan will make a return to the group stage of the AFC Champions League for the first time in five years after their 3-1 victory over Naft Tehran in the final of the Hazfi Cup on Monday secured their place in the draw for the 2016 edition of Asia’s premier club competition.
Naft, who were looking to end their domestic campaign on a high following after missing out on the league title to Sepahan on the final day of the season, took the initiative one minute after the interval at the Takhti Stadium in the Iranian capital through Vahid Amiry only for Ghassem Haddadifar to draw the Esfahan side level two minutes later.
Another two minutes had elapsed when Zob Ahan took a 2-1 lead with Mehdi Rajabzadeh scoring his 2015 Hazfi Cup-leading fourth of the competition and while Naft piled on the pressure in search of the equaliser it was the 2010 AFC Champions League runners-up that would find the net again, with Kaveh Rezaei scoring with ten minutes of the final left to play.
Zob Ahan’s third Hazfi Cup win sees Yaya Gomohammadi’s side book their place in the 2016 ACL group stage draw, with their last participation in the tournament proper having come in 2011 having been eliminated from the 2012 tournament at the qualifying stage by Iranian rivals Esteghlal.
After missing out on the Hazfi Cup and having to settle for third in the 2014/15 Iran league standings – which grants them entry to the 2016 ACL qualifying campaign – Naft Tehran will now turn their attention to their conquest for continental glory having made it to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League in their debut campaign.