AFC Champions League Two:
Sepahan defeat Sharjah to keep knockout hopes alive
Persian Gulf Pro League club Sepahan defeated Emirati side Sharjah FC 3-1 in Doha to revive hopes of progressing to the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League Two.
The much-needed victory saw the Iranian top-flight side close the gap on second-placed Sharjah to one point in Group C and remain four points adrift of Jordan’s Al Wehdat SC, which beat Istiklol of Tajikistan 1-0 at home.
It will now be a three-way battle for the top two spots in the group with two rounds of fixtures to spare.
Playing in a first game under interim coach Hugo Almeida since Jose Morais’s departure, Sepahan started right on the front foot and found the breakthrough in the 12th minute, when Iran international center-back Mohammad-Amin Hazbavi headed home on a Mohammad Karimi’s pinpoint corner kick delivery.
Arya Yousefi’s side-footed strike from inside the box doubled Sepahan’s lead in the third minute of added time in the first half, before Sharjah pulled one back through Brazilian substitute Luan Pereira, whose low drive went past Sepahan keeper Payam Niazmand on the hour mark.
Sharjah continued to push for the equalizer but Sepahan managed to hold on and restore the two-goal cushion through Javad Aqaeipour in the first minute of added time to walk away with maximum points.
Next in the group for Sepahan is a crucial game against Al Wehdat on November 26.