AFC – Kuruvchi coach Mirdjalal
Kasimov had reason to believe his side were denied what may have proved to
be a second-half winner as the Uzbek side drew 2-2 with Saipa on Wednesday.
With the game deadlocked at two goals apiece 10 minutes into the second
half, Chilean striker Jose Luis Villanueva fired against the left upright
with the ball ricocheting across the face of goal into the arms of Saipa
keeper Vahid Sheikhveisi.
Villanueva claimed that the ball had crossed the line but Kuwaiti referee
Saad Al Fadhli allowed play to go on.
“I have to see the television replays of that effort but it is possible that
the ball may have crossed the line,” claimed Kasimov after the game.
“The goalkeeper definitely reached behind him to gather the ball and our
fans, who were gathered in an area where they could see whether it had
crossed the line, seemed quite certain that it was in.”
Kasimov though was quite happy with the result that gives his side a bit of
an edge for the second leg.
Villanueva and former World Player of the Year Rivaldo put the visitors in
front twice in the first half only to see their efforts cancelled out by
Iman Razaghirad’s powerful header and Kianoush Rahmati’s deflected
free-kick.
“Maybe we could have won 3-2 but the 2-2 draw is still a good result for us,
especially as we were the away team,” the Kuruvchi coach added.
“The tie is not over though and we have to see what happens in the second
leg.
“We prepared for this match very seriously and we had plenty of respect for
our opponents.
“We did not underestimate Saipa. We expected a tough game from them and I
think that it turned out to be a good match.”
Kasimov was especially pleased with the performance of veteran goalkeeper
Pavel Bugalo, who made a pair of crucial saves in the second half to stop
Jalal Hosseini and Issa Traore.
“He had an excellent game for us. He used his head well and made some good
saves especially to stop Traore’s header right at the end.
“I felt that all of our defence played well because Saipa offered plenty of
threat in attack, and their number 18 (Iman Razaghirad) caused us a lot of
problems.
“We were unlucky with their second equaliser because the ball took a big
deflection off our defender but that’s football.”
