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AFC- With a quarter-final spot
out of reach and morale at a low point after a heart-breaking loss in the
Iranian league title-decider last weekend, Sepahan are expected to field a
second string side for the visit of Group A winners Kuruvchi on Wednesday.
The Esfahan side’s hopes of reaching the last eight of the AFC Champions
League ended two weeks ago when they lost 2-1 to Al Ittihad Aleppo in Syria.
But worse was to follow last Saturday when a goal in the fifth minute of
stoppage time saw them lose 2-1 to Perspolis on the final day of the Iran
Pro League season, handing the title to the Tehran club.
“This is a very difficult time for us,” said assistant coach Karim Ghambari
of the mood in the Sepahan camp.
“We lost the league in the last minute of the season and are very sad. But
hour by hour, and day by day the players are getting better.”
Sepahan’s only chance of silverware this season now rests on the Hazfi Cup,
a competition they have won in three of the past four seasons.
With Sepahan scheduled to face struggling Pegah in the quarter-finals, coach
Jorvan Vieira is expected to give his first choice players a rest for the
game against Kuruvchi at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
Goalkeeper Masoud Homami, defenders Hadi Jaffari and Jalal Akbari,
midfielders Hosein Kazemi and Abdulwahab Abolheil and striker Seyed Salehi
will be rested while midfielder Hossein Papi is suspended.
Vieira is also missing defenders Hadi Aghili and Mohsen Bengar and
midfielder Ehsan Hajsafi who are training with the Iran national team for
next month’s World Cup qualifiers, while the Iraqi duo of Emad Mohammed
Redha and Haitham Kadhim are also away on international duty.
In contrast, the mood in the Kuruvchi camp is upbeat after their 2-0 win
over Al Ittihad that saw them reach the AFC Champions League knockout stage
at the first attempt.
Kuruvchi have also won ten games in a row in the Uzbek League, thumping
Shurtan 7-0 last Friday for the biggest win in club history.
And coach Mirdjalal Kasimov is not about to let his team take their foot off
the gas against Sepahan.
“Although we are already assured of qualifying for the knockout stage, we
will still be playing for a positive result in Teheran as we want to uphold
the image and position of the club,” said Kasimov.
“We plan to take all of our key players to Teheran and then decide who will
play against Sepahan and who will be rested.”
Striker Ulugbek Bakaev and defender Bakhtier Ashurmatov have missed the trip
to Iran as the pair are undergoing treatment on injuries in Germany but the
team is otherwise at full strength.
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