AFC Champions League Elite:
Beiranvand hails defensive masterclass after Tractor edges Al Shorta
Tractor goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand praised his side’s defensive resilience after the Iranian top-flight champion secured a 1-0 home victory over Iraq’s Al Shorta on Matchday Four of the AFC Champions League Elite in Tabriz on Monday.
Mahdi Torabi scored the only goal of the game in the 26th minute, finishing off a superb passage of one-touch football between Tibor Halilović and Tomislav Strkalj to slot the ball past Ahmed Basil.
The home side still had a solid backline and Beiranvand, who delivered a man-of-the-match performance with a string of decisive saves, to thank for claiming a second successive win in the new season of the Asian elite clubs’ competition.
Beiranvand’s third clean sheet in four outings helped Tractor sit third in the West Zone’s 12-team table with eight points – well on course for a spot in the round of 16 – while the visiting side was left languishing in 11th with a single point.
“I congratulate the Tractor team, the technical staff, the players and the fans,” the Iranian international keeper said after the game. “If it weren’t for their support and efforts today, we would have had a hard time.
“Before the game, Mr. [Dragan] Skocic spoke to us and emphasized that Al Shorta is of a high level and its current position in the table is not the team’s true right. If they had been a little luckier, they could have had nine points. We knew we were facing a quality team.
Reflecting on his contribution to Tractor’s decent run in the competition, Beiranvand said, “In these three clean sheets, all members of the team, from the striker to the goalkeeper, played a role. This is the result of the effort of the entire team.
“Not conceding a goal gives the team character. I only think about Tractor’s success and I believe that if we all set the team’s success as our goal and move forward step by step, good things will happen.”
Despite the victory, Skocic said he still expects his side to be more creative and clinical in the final third.
“When we cannot create many opportunities, we will not get a satisfactory win,” said the Croatian. “The first half was like that, we did not have many opportunities.
“Sometimes you have to win with a lot of effort. We had to do without [left-back Mohammed] Naderi and Igor [Postonjski]. The guys who came back from injuries and those who joined us are gradually getting used to it.
“Anyway, it was an important win. Congratulations to everyone who loves Tractor. I know it wasn’t a pretty win, but sometimes you have to win tooth and nail.”
Tractor will next visit Uzbekistan’s PFC Nasaf, which sits rock bottom in the table with no points on November 24, while Al Shorta will travel to Riyadh to play Al Hilal a day later.