AFC - TEHRAN, Esteghlal coach Amir Ghalenoei admitted that his players were below par on Wednesday as they eked out a 1-0 win over Buriram United in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-finals at the Azadi Stadium.
Khosro Heydari opened the scoring for the Iranian champions with a fortunate goal from the right flank after less than two minutes. But after a promising start, the hosts gave a stuttering performance in front of their fans and they were fortunate not to concede an equaliser to the Thai FA Cup holders.
While pleased with the win, which gives his side a precious advantage to take into the return match in Thailand next month, Ghalanoei felt that the performance of his players did not meet his expectations.
“We wanted to devise more attacks but we failed to do that due to poor play-making,” said the former Iran national coach.
“I wasn’t very content with (striker) Arash Borhani’s display but (goalkeeper) Mehdi Rahmati made some good saves.
“We weren’t stressed out, but I have to confess we weren’t good enough in the second period.”
While the performance of winger Mohammed Ghazi was criticised by the Iranian media, Ghalanoei (pictured) felt other players were at fault including captain Farhad Majidi who squandered a gilt-edge opportunity to increase Esteghlal’s lead in the early stages of the game.
“It was a good start to our campaign towards the final goal, but Farhad Majidi could have doubled the lead for us, had he been more careful in finishing,” lamented Ghalanoei.
“Maybe the mistake I made in the second half was to reduce our midfielders from four to three. I don’t know for what reason you are only complaining about Mohammad Ghazi because in my view the whole team didn’t play well at all.
“Farhad Majidi is a player who can score from tight angles and he’s one of those players who can be the saviour of a team when the game is tight. But like some of our other players he didn’t play a good game either.”
Battling Buriram display delights Drulic
Despite seeing his side fall to a 1-0 defeat to Esteghlal on Wednesday, Buriram United coach Goran Drulic was pleased with the performance of his players and confident that the Thai club can turn the AFC Champions League quarter-final tie around in the return leg.
A fortunate early goal by Khosro Heydari proved decisive for the Iranian champions at the Azadi Stadium and the visitors can count themselves as unfortunate not to have salvaged something from the match after they dominated possession and were twice denied by goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmati late on.
“It wasn’t a bad game. We played really well and had a much better ball possession during the whole match but we were very unlucky to concede as early as the second minute,” said Drulic (pictured).
“Usually when you fall behind shortly after the start, players will get stressed out and caught off guard, but we didn’t panic and we maintained our mastery over the hosts. We also had some very good chances to level the match.”
The result leaves the tie delicately poised ahead of the return match in Thailand and Drulic believes that Buriram will be able to get the job done at their home ground.
“We came to Tehran for a win but we lost the match and we have to return home empty-handed,” said the Serbian. “But I am very optimistic for the return match and I feel we make it to the next round, since we have the potential to be among the last four.
“We outplayed Esteghlal on their home turf with our desired system and we’re looking forward to playing better back home in the second leg.
“I’m certain the fans watched a very good game this evening and they all enjoyed themselves, I’m pretty much sure the Thai supporters would watch the same quality game when we play at home on September 18.
“I can’t elaborate further on our plans for the return leg but I’m positive that the excessive humidity in Thailand will be troubling for Esteghlal who are unaccustomed to such weather conditions.
“I’ll also cross my fingers that our injured players can recover before the second match, so we can use them in the line-up.”