AFCCL - Sepahan coach Luka Bonacic admitted he
was happy with his side’s scoreless draw at home against Kawasaki Frontale
of Japan in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final tie on
Wednesday.
Despite going into the match at Foolad Shahr Stadium off the back of four
wins out of five in the embryonic Iran Pro League season, Sepahan looked
hesitant and nervous in a match which saw the best of the few chances
falling to the visitors.
“We are very happy that it’s ended 0-0. Today we didn’t play as well as we
normally do,” said Bonacic, who denied that his team were nervous.
“We were not stressed at all. This is football and many of our players
didn’t play well.
“Kawasaki were much better in the first half but we improved in the second
half. Overall, we didn’t play well.”
Sepahan went into the match without striker Seyed Salehi, their top scorer
in the group stage with four goals. His strength and aerial presence were
conspicuous in their absence as his replacement, the diminutive Mahmoud
Karimi, failed to shine as the lone striker.
Despite scoring five goals in as many matches on the domestic front, Karimi
fluffed his lines when presented with Sepahan’s best chance of the match.
He failed to control a long ball which beat the Kawasaki defence, allowing
goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima to come out of his goal and block the shot.
Salehi’s knee injury means that he will miss the second leg in Japan next
week, leaving Bonacic to ponder where his goals are going to come from.
“He (Salehi) was our top scorer in the group and we will miss him. He won’t
be available in the second leg but we have a plan.
“The first half (of the tie) is over and we have to think about the second
half.”
