Iran’s Tractor Sazi crushes UAE’s Al Jazira in AFC Champions League

Iranian professional soccer club Tractor Sazi Tabriz, also known as Tractor, has routed Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates at the group stage of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

On Wednesday, the Tabriz-based team got its Group C campaign off to a perfect start at the multi-purpose Yadegar-e-Emam Stadium in Tabriz, located 528 kilometers (328 miles) northwest of the capital, Tehran, under the tutelage of Amir Ghalenoei, and managed to secure the full three points of the match with a 4-0 win.

Tractor soccer players opened the match in a dominant fashion and found the back of the opponent’s net only after three minutes, when Bakhtiar Rahmani received the ball after his teammates performed a series of cleverly offensive maneuvers, and scored with a precise shot aimed at Al Jazira’s goalpost.

The Persians, spurred by the cheering crowd at the stadium, continued to exert their spell of pressure on the visitors.

They gave the second shock to the guests rather unexpectedly in the 9th minute, when Shoja’ Khalilzadeh doubled Tractor’s advantage and headed in a corner kick-out from fellow Soroush Rafiei. Tractor soccer players lost a fine opportunity to score four minutes later.  

Al Jazira players then organized extensive attacks to compensate for the goals conceded and redress the balance.

Tractor goalkeeper Mohammadreza Akhbari exhibited praiseworthy adeptness in the 27th minute, and neutralized a formidable Al Jazira attack.

Iranian soccer players failed to produce any other goal scoring chances in the remaining minutes of the first half, and went into the breather with a two-goal lead.

After the break, Al Jazira footballers sought to narrow the deficit, and Kenwyne Joel Jones netted in the 52nd minute of the match in a one-on-one position. The linesman, however, ruled it out for offside.

Tractor Sazi players reclaimed the field shortly afterward, and Mehdi Sharifi waged a laudable attempt in the 53rd minute to cross the ball from the line.

The hosts’ fourth goal came in the 58th minute, when Rahmani robbed the ball of Al Jazira defender Faris Jumaa’s feet and found Ali Khasif in a single position.

Three minutes later, Rahmani managed to control well but failed to score a hat trick.

Tractor Sazi footballers had several other decent scoring chances in the remaining time before the end of the match, but Khasif kept Al Jazira’s goal closed.

In another Wednesday Group C encounter, Uzbek soccer club Pakhtakor Tashkent held Saudi Arabia’s al-Hilal to a 2-2 draw.

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