Pakhtakor top ten-man Foolad

ACL - Pakhtakor downed Iranian rivals Foolad 2-0 to move to the top of the standings of Group A in the 2006 AFC Champions League on Wednesday evening and enhance their chances of progressing to the knockout phase of the competition.

Valeri Nepomniatchi's team climbed two points clear of the Iranian champions thanks to goals from Zaynitdin Tadjiyev and newly appointed captain Server Djeparov as Pakhtakor notched up their second win of the campaign.

Tadjiyev's strike saw the 28-year-old show some of his old form following his return to the club in the winter after a disappointing time at Kazakhstan club Esil in 2005.

Tadjiyev - the eldest of three brothers on the club's books - was the hero of Pakhtakor's run to the semi-finals of the inaugural Champions League in 2003 when he scored four goals in five games as the Tashkent-based club reached the last four.

The striker, who is joined at the club by his brothers Farhod and Komoliddin, has enhanced his chances of making a long-term return to the starting line up by giving Pakhtakor the lead in the absence of regular forward Anvarjon Soliev.

With the Uzbek international missing through injury, Tadjiyev took full advantage, scoring after 12 minutes as referee Mohammed Omar Al Saeedi played advantage when Foolad keeper Hassan Hori hauled down the Pakhtakor forward, only for the ball to roll over the goal line.

Tadjiyev caused more problems for the Foolad defence 10 minutes before the break when Seyed Mohammad Alavi was forced to foul the forward to deny him another sortie into the penalty area.

Referee Al Saeedi awarded a free kick on the edge of the area and cautioned Alavi before Djeparov's well-struck left foot free kick sailed into the far corner of Hori’s goal.

While Tadjiyev was causing the Iranians all kinds of problems, Foolad's attack struggled to find a way past the home side's well-drilled defence as they sought to make amends for throwing away the lead in their late capitulation to Al Qadisiya on Matchday Two.

Foolad's main threat came from set-plays and Ignatiy Nesterov in the home goal was called into action on a couple of occasions, but the visitors' hopes all but evaporated following the expulsion of Nader Ahmadi, who was sent off eight minutes into the second half following a deliberate handball, his second bookable offence of the game.