AFC Champions League Elite:
Skocic challenges Tractor to aim higher after last-gasp winner secures knockout spot
Persian Gulf Pro League champion Tractor may have secured progression to the AFC Champions League Elite last 16 with two matches to spare in the league phase, but head coach Dragan Skocic is demanding that his side aims for more in the competition.
Prolific striker Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh netted a stoppage-time winner as Tractor came from behind to beat Qatar’s Al Duhail 2-1 at home on Monday, moving up to second in the West Zone’s 12-team table with 14 points — four adrift of Saudi heavyweight Al Hilal, which defeated host Sharjah FC 1-0 to maintain its perfect run in Asia’s elite club competition.
The visitors broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 35th minute after Mohammad Naderi tripped Edmilson Junior in the box, with Benjamin Bourigeaud sending Tractor goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand the wrong way from the spot.
Tractor’s equalizer came six minutes into the second half as Tibor Halilovic’s curling free-kick struck the upright, before captain Shoja Khalilzadeh calmly side-footed home the rebound.
Just when it looked as though the match would end in a stalemate, Hosseinzadeh dribbled past a couple of Al Duhail players before his deflected effort from distance lobbed Argentine goalkeeper Bautista Burke, sending the home crowd at Tabriz’s Yadegar-e Imam Stadium into a frenzy.
“I am very happy with today’s game; we played very well,” Skocic said after his team secured its fourth win in six Asian matches. “We gave the penalty away too easily in the first half, but otherwise we produced a good performance.
“We created more scoring opportunities. We pressed the opponents well and closed them down with discipline. I like this way of playing, and today we played a little more with our minds.
“We have a long season ahead of us. Our achievement has been satisfying, but we are looking to the future. No one in the locker room is satisfied with merely advancing from the first stage, but what has been done is respectable,” added the Croatian.
Hosseinzadeh, meanwhile, praised the Tractor supporters “who came to the stadium to support their team despite the cold weather in Tabriz.”
“We conceded too cheaply, but we had chances to equalize in the first half. At halftime, we vowed to win this match, and that’s what we managed to do in the end,” added the 25-year-old Iranian international, who took his tally to 10 goals and five assists in 21 appearances across all competitions this season.
Hosseinzadeh, who was the leading marksman in the Iranian top flight last season, credited Skocic with helping him deliver “the best version of me over the past two years.”
“I am really pleased with my form for both club and country. I would love to be part of the Iranian squad at the World Cup, though the final decision rests with the national team’s coaching staff,” he said.
Tractor will be back at the home venue to face Al Sadd on February 10, before playing away to another Qatari opposition in Al Gharafa seven days later.