Sepahan eye revenge against Al Ain

AFCL - Sepahan coach Luka Bonacic wants his team to put aside their disappointing 3-2 defeat in Al Ain two weeks and reassert their position at the top of Group D with a home victory against the United Arab Emirates league side on Wednesday.

A late goal by Frank Ongfiang saw the Hafzi Cup holders suffer their first defeat in this year’s competition although the Esfahan side remained top of the group due to their 1-0 away win against Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia in their previous game.

With Sepahan the only Iranian representatives in the AFC Champions League following the disqualification of Esteghlal, there is a sense of determination to do the nation proud.

“We’re in our best possible condition for the game and having scrutinised their weaknesses, we are confident that we can get a positive result from the game and improve our hopes of sealing a spot in the knockout phase,” said Bonacic.

“We’ve also done well at home recently and won our two most recent home games in the Iran Pro League, outperforming leaders Esteghlal and second-placed Saipa.

“Al Ain were fortunate to get their home win. They had a lot of luck in that game while my players did not enjoy much fortune that night,” the Croatian added.

With Moharram Navidkia expected to be missing due to his chronic injury problems, Bonacic will be looking to Mohammed Nori and Iraqi international Abdul Wahab Abu Al Hail to anchor the midfield once again.

Al Ain, who enjoyed a 1-0 win against Al Nasr in the UAE league last Thursday, arrived in Iran on Monday with a full-strength squad as Humaid Fakher returns after serving a one-match suspension.

The 2003 AFC Champions League winners got their campaign back on track with their victory against Sepahan after managing only one point in their first two Group D games but Hawar Mohammed knows that there is plenty of work to be done if Al Ain are to maintain their record as the only team to reach the knockout stage in every edition of the AFC Champions League.

"We played well against Sepahan in the first game and we are hoping for a similar performance, said the Iraqi forward.

“Our game plan is always to win but that doesn't always happen in football. Obviously, Sepahan will be a tough team to beat on their home turf and they are certain to come out very hard against us but we are ready for them.

“Al Ain has always been a big team in the AFC Champions League. We all know that and I'm sure that we will rise to this occasion."