AFC Champions League Two:
Tractor holds off Al Khaldiya fightback to head into quarters
Persian Gulf Pro League club Tractor FC survived a late surge by Al Khaldiya to beat the Bahraini top-flight champion 5-4 on aggregate and advance to the AFC Champions League Two quarterfinals.
Stepping into the game on the back of a first-leg 2-1 away win, Tractor looked to be marching through after a two-goal lead at the break in a jam-packed Yadegar-e Imam Stadium in Tabriz.
However, a shaky performance by Iranian international keeper Alireza Beiranvand helped the visitors come from behind twice late in the game as it finished in a 3-3 stalemate.
Al Khaldiya had to endure pressure from the start with Tractor’s Ricardo Alves threatening with a header in the fourth minute following Danial Esmaeilifar’s cross into the box.
The Bahraini side continued to repel Tractor’s advances following attempts from Igor Postonjski and Tomislav Strkalj.
However, Tractor found a way through in the 15th minute after Mahdi Torabi released Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, who muscled his way past his marker before slotting home the opener to take his tally to eight goals in the competition this season.
Al Khaldiya had its first sight on goal in the 19th minute after Jovan Marinkovic angled his headed attempt just wide off the left post following Dhurgham Ismail’s corner.
The home side doubled its advantage in the 32nd minute with Strkalj volleying home on the rebound after Hosseinzadeh’s close-range attempt had been kept out by Al Khaldiya keeper Mohammad Al Gharably.
Al Khaldiya made a triple substitution just before the half-time break, bringing on Nizar Al Rashdan, Salaah Al Yahyaei, and Mahdi Abduljabbar.
The decision paid off handsomely, as Abduljabbar reduced the deficit in the 57th minute, converting Al Yahyaei’s cutback, before the striker drew the visiting side level with a simple tap-in in the six-yard box, capitalizing on a blunder by Beiranvand, who failed to control a goal-kick pass from Tractor captain Shoja Khalilzadeh.
Tractor came back fighting and retook the lead in the 71st minute after Al Gharably blocked Strkalj’s shot from inside the box, only for Torabi to convert the rebound.
Al Khaldiya, however, equalized for the second time after Mohamed Al Romaihi headed in Al Yahyaei’s cross in the third minute of added time.
The Bahraini club came close to forcing the game into extra time, but Beiranvand produced a double save to deny Al Romaihi and Abduljabbar on a corner kick.