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Second-string Al Nasr suffer spirited 2-1 loss at the hands of Sepahan

An under strength Al Nasr put up a valiant fight as they went down 2-1 at the hands of visiting Iranian side Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan on Match Day 5 of the AFC Champions League, but despite the best efforts of the effective reserve side, they still have no points to show for their troubles at the bottom of Group C. The win lifts Sepahan’s points total to 6 in the group and keeps their chances of progressing to the final 16 of the competition alive.

With Al Nasr unable to qualify out of the group, Walter Zenga took the opportunity to rest the majority of his first-choice starting line-up, making wholesale changes with the goalkeeper Ahmad Shambih the only regular in the side. Hassan Mohammed flashed Al Nasr’s first chance of the game wide in the 3rd minute, and five minutes later Shambih was called into action for the first time as he made a sharp save. In the 12th minute Al Nasr had many options in promising positions but Khalifa Mubarak put the ball in the back of the net from an offside position, and saw his effort correctly ruled out by the linesman. Sepahan steadily got a stronger hold on the game as a 23rd-minute goalmouth scramble almost saw Al Nasr go behind, but for the Iranian side’s poor finishing. In the 29th minute, however, there was no let-off for the home team as the tired Shambih spilt his catch from Xhevahir Sukaj’s shot from the left, and Radomir Dalovic was on hand to tap in the rebound, putting Sepahan 1-0 up. Two minutes later Shambih redeemed himself with an alert catch from a fiercely struck dipping effort from distance, and again in the 41st minute the young shot-stopper was alert to smother the danger from Sepahan as he came out smartly to gather at the feet of Dalovic.

The visitors began the second half on the front foot, and Al Nasr were fortunate not to go two down as Mohammad Khalatbari’s thunderous shot from distance rattled the underside of the crossbar and bounced out. A minute later Hassan Mohammed did all the hard work in attack for Al Nasr, beating his marker with pace and strength, but the striker slipped just as he was hitting his shot and it skewed wide of the target. Walter Zenga made his first change of the game in the 65th minute, bringing on veteran Italian striker Giuseppe Mascara in place of Jamal Ibrahim as he sought an equaliser, and five minutes later Al Nasr were back on level terms. Hassan Amin skipped down the left wing and drilled a low cross into the area, which Hassan Mohammed duly slid in and dispatched into the back of the net to make it 1-1 in the 71st minute. The striker was then almost immediately withdrawn as Zenga brought on another big gun in the form of Japanese forward Takayuki Morimoto, and Al Nasr’s Brazilian club captain Leonardo Lima was next to enter the field of play in place of Younus Ahmad, who duly handed the armband over. Humaid Ahmed and Takayuki Morimoto both came close to stealing in at the back as Al Nasr looked to nick a winner, but a defensive lapse at the back cost the hosts dearly as Sepahan took the lead again in the 79th minute. Al Nasr failed to clear their lines after Shambih’s initial stop from a Sepahan shot, and the ball bobbled around in the box until substitute striker Mohammad Gholami put a decisive header beyond the helpless Shambih. Seconds later Morimoto put a free header over the crossbar as Al Nasr once again looked to restore parity, and Lima constructed some good opportunities in front of goal but the Blues lacked cutting edge. A 90th minute corner from Mascara almost found an equaliser but Al Nasr were unable to find their way back to claim a point as the game finished 2-1.