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AFC - An injury-time strike scored by
substitute Ali Hossein Aslanian secured a 4-1 win for Pirouzi over Nisa but
it was not enough to help the Iranian champions advance to the semi-finals
of the AFC Champions League.
With Pakhtakor beating Al Talaba 3-0 in the later match, the Iranian side
finished second in Group B and bowed out of the US$3 million competition.
Pirouzi went out in search of goals against winless Nisa and went ahead 3-0
through a brace by Hassan Khanmohammadi in the 14th and 76th minutes and one
from captain Yahya Golmohammadi in the 47th.
Nisa had not scored in their previous two games but the team from
Turkmenistan caught Pirouzi on the break with one minute of normal time
left. Ali Ansarian handled Rasif Kerimov's shot on the line and, after the
customary red card for the Pirouzi striker, substitute Amanmyrat Meredov
stepped up to convert the spot-kick.
However, Pirouzi threw the ball forward one last time and Aslanian found
himself in the right spot to sweep the ball home, that at least kept
Pirouzi's interest in the tournament alive until the last kick.
Knowing the need for goals, Pirouzi threw caution to the wind, with seven
changes from the previous match against Pakhtakor. They lined up with only
three defenders and threw Sohrab Entezari and Behnam Abolghasempour forward,
with support from Ali Salmany and Reza Jabbari.
It almost paid dividends in the first minute when Nisa keeper Pavel Matus
spilled the ball, but Salmany hooked over.
In the 13th minute they created an even better chance when Khanmohammadi
crossed from the right for Sohrab Entezari whose overhead kick crashed
against the post. A minute late with the roles and wings reversed, Entezari
pulled the ball back from the left flank for Khanmohammadi to slash home the
opening goal.
However, the hoped-for goal rush did not materialise and the Turkmen side
were able to capitalise on some of the space left in the Pirouzi rearguard.
Dayanchgylych Urazov, in particular, had two excellent chances that could
have spelled the end of Pirouzi's hopes in the tournament. The first, a
volley on the break, was just kept out by Mohammad Mohammadi's left foot,
the second, after the keeper had misjudged a cross was just tipped wide.
While Pirouzi may have been disappointed to reach the interval with only the
single goal, they got the early breakthrough they needed at the start of the
second half, when a right-wing corner fell to Golmohammadi, Pirouzi's
captain for the day, which the defender volleyed back across goal into the
roof of the net.
Nine minutes later it looked like three, as Jabbari forced a save from Matus,
which left Abolghasempour the simplest of tap-ins. However, the goal was
ruled out because of an earlier infringement.
Still the Iranian side remained vulnerable at the other end and were
extremely fortunate that Amandurdy Annadurdiyev hooked over at close range
from a 62nd-minute corner.
And still the Iranians were in need of that little bit of luck. Twice in the
72nd minute they struck the woodwork - firstly when Ali Ansarian prodded the
ball past Matus onto a post, secondly when Khanmohammadi headed onto the
bar.
Four minutes later, however, Khanmohammadi lowered his sights just a
fraction, getting to Mohammad Barzegar's right-win free-kick just in front
of Matus to find the back of the net.
Then came the dramatic exchanges of the final minutes and Aslanian's late
but ultimately futile strike.
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