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Al Jazira demonstrate poor display to lose 5-1 to Sepahan

Al Jazira disappointed their fans after being defeated with a 5-1 humiliating win maintained by Sepahan in the second round AFC Champions League match played tonight at Naghsh Jahan Stadium in Iran. The hosts raised their tally to six points to top the standings after beating Hilal of Saudi Arabia in their opening game at King Fahd Stadium. Al Hilal overcame Al Gharafa of Qatar this evening with a lone goal to stay as runner-up while Al Jazira slipped to the bottom of the ladder with the Qatari side taking third spot.

Al Jazira were in lack of concentration since the start of the game especially in their defense line and the continued pressure practiced by the home team's players forced them to commit a number of errors.

The Iranians had to wait only three minutes before they opened the score through Ahmad Jamshidan who gave his side an early lead.  The losers demonstrated male display afterwards and despite of this fact they made some shy attacks, but they have thrown away a number of scoring opportunities. They tried to fight back, but all their attempts were in vain.

The hosts were the better side after controlling the midfield zone, launching several raids that kept their visiting team's defense busy all the time. The winners' continuous hard work was soon paid dividends when their dynamic striker Ahmad Jamshidan came again to hit the back of the net in the 26th minute to make it 2-0. His teammate Ibrahima Toure from Senegal was almost to net the third goal but he lost balance to send the ball away despite of rounding Al Jazira's custodian Ali Khusaif and was left with an empty net four minutes before the break.

Jamshidan came close to score a hat trick six minutes into the second session but his long-range fierce volley was saved by the goalie Ali Khusaif. But Ibrahima Toure was close to compensate for the squandered sitter when he hooked the ball over the advancing goalkeeper towards the empty net, but defender Juma'a' Abdullah cleared it away before it crosses the goal line.

Al Jazira made some good efforts that helped them to reduce the deficit in the 54th minute. Salah Obaid collected the ball and ran down the left flank before crossing into the six yard area for Bare to head it home to revive hopes for his team. But Al Jazira's joyful moments did not live long when Toure received a lovely pass from Jamshidan inside the box and he did not hesitate to drive the ball home for the third goal. Jan Jus dashed Al Jazira's hopes when he scored the fourth goal in the 66th minute and the substitute Jawad Kazemian completed the rout when he added the fifth one minute into the injury time to secure a 5-1 victory for the home squad.