AFC - IR Iran’s Zob Ahan squeezed through to the 2018 AFC Champions League group stage with a 3-1 victory over Indian champions Aizawl FC.

The hosts got off to a flyer, with striker Morteza Tabrizi forcing a foul inside Aizawl’s penalty area to earn his side a spot kick inside three minutes. Mehdi Rajabzadeh made no mistakes from the spot to fire the Iranians to an early lead.

Aizawl laboured back into the match, and it was Romanian midfielder Andeir Ionescu who brought them back into the match with a sidefooted finish from inside the box in the 21st minute.

Despite the Indian side’s best efforts, Zob Ahan finally settled the tie with two Tabrezi headers in the final ten minutes. The striker converted two crosses from Sayed Hosseini in the 83rd minute then in added time to seal a difficult win for the Iranian team.

Zob Ahan join Qatar’s Al Duhail, UAE’s Al Wahda and Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv Tashkent in group B of the 2018 AFC Champions League.

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