Littbarski: we stood up to the test

AFC – Saipa coach Pierre Littbarski felt that his team stood up well to the challenge of Kuruvchi on Wednesday as the two sides drew 2-2 in the first leg of their quarter-final clash at the Azadi Stadium.

The Uzbek side entered the tie as favourites and twice took the lead in the first half with goals by Chilean striker Jose Luis Villanueva and former World Player of the Year Rivaldo.

But those strikes were cancelled out by Iman Razaghirad’s powerful header and Kianoush Rahmati’s deflected free-kick which leaves both sides with plenty to play for in Tashkent next week.

“I think that we saw a good game from both sides tonight,” said Littbarski.

“Kuruvchi were much better in the first half but I think that in the second half, we were actually dominating especially in the last 10 minutes.

“We had our chances to win but 2-2 is still a good score against them,” the German added.

“Kuruvchi are a very good team and Rivaldo is a fantastic player but in the second half, we controlled him much better and we defended much better.

“The second leg will be difficult for us. But I think that the condition of the team was getting better as the game went on and we created better chances so we still have a good chance to go through.”

Saipa skipper Ebrahim Sadeghi echoed his coach’s thoughts.

“We did not know what to expect from Kuruvchi at the beginning so we were a bit too cautious in the first half and I think that we didn’t play well,” the midfielder said.

“But as the game went on, we gained a better understanding of their style of play. We grew in confidence and belief and proved a good match for them.

“Of course we had our chances to find a winning goal but we were unlucky not to score again.

“But our performance tonight certainly gives us a lot of hope for the return game.”