AFC Champions League Two:
Tractor boss Skocic rues lack of cutting edge, confident of progress
Tractor head coach Dragan Skocic was frustrated by his side’s poor finishing in the goalless draw against Saudi side Al Taawoun at home in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.
Tractor dominated the best part of the contest at the Yadegar-e Imam Stadium in Tabriz, but visitors’ goalkeeper Abdulquddus Atiiay pulled off a string of saves, as both sides will have it all to play for in next week’s return leg in Buraidah’s Wolves Park.
Prolific striker Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh had a glorious opportunity to take his tally to nine goals in the competition, when he evaded his marker and with the keeper stranded, saw his shot rattle off the crossbar in the opening stages of the second half.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Skocic said he was “not satisfied” with the final outcome but remained optimistic about his team’s chances of progressing to the semifinals.
“I said yesterday that this match is not going to end today. We created many chances, but we missed them. We had a strong rhythm, but unfortunately, we did not score. We showed how good a team we are and we are going to win the second leg,” said the Croatian.
Asked if he had a reason to worry after his team played to second goalless draw in as many games, following the stalemate against Sepahan last time out in the Iranian top flight, Skocic said: “No, it’s not a cause for concern that the opportunities were not scored today. It doesn’t worry me. Whenever the players give everything they can on the field, I’m happy. I know we’ll have the same chances in the next game and I hope we write fate differently.”
Meanwhile, Skocic’s opposite number Mohammed Al Abdali was pleased with the result, though he blamed the quality of the pitch for his side’s performance.
“I am very happy with the result. The ball is still in the field. This was the first half of the match and I hope we advance to the next stage. I would like to thank the players,” said the Saudi coach.
“To be honest, one of the factors was the playing field. I don’t know what the problem was, but the field affected our performance. We always play possession football, but the field didn’t allow us to do that.
“The same problem occurred for Tractor. I don’t know if it was because of the hardness of the field or the cold weather but in the second leg, you can be sure that we will have more possession of the ball on our own field.”