The Iranians were forced to come from behind to claim a 1-1 draw against UAE side Al Jazira at the Azadi Stadium after Hossein Kazemi cancelled out Fernando Baiano's early opener on the stroke of half-time.
But Esteghlal wasted two gilt-edged chances as Arash Borhani missed a retaken penalty in the second period and Ali Alizadeh headed woefully over when presented with an empty goal.
Hashem Beikzadeh hit the bar with a header and Khosro Heydari did the same with a 25-yard volley but while admitting his side could have been more clinical, Ghalenoiee refused to condemn his men for their inability to take three points from a game they dominated.
“Although their finishing wasn't great, my players followed our strategy until the very end,” he said.
“Our aim was to collect all three points but I have no complaints about my team because they played well.
“We were just very poor in front of goal. I had to take off striker Arash Borhani after he missed one chance in the first-half and the penalty in the second-half. Substitute Alizadeh was employed as a target man for the long ball into the box and he did his job well.”
Following last week's 2-1 defeat to Al Ittihad, Esteghlal are locked with Al Jazira at the bottom of the table on one point apiece.
However, Ghalenoiee remained defiant over their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.
“Now we have only one point out of two games which makes our job hard,” he added.
“However there are four more matches to go to gain the points needed to qualify. Esteghlal must qualify and the only question for us is if we qualify as first or second in the group.”
Al Jazira coach Abel Braga admitted his side had been given a thorough examination.
“That was tough game for both sides,” he said.
“Esteghlal had more possession and the athleticism of their players gave them an advantage but they made mistake in the last third.”
Braga also defended his players against charges of time wasting with keeper Ali Khaseif seemingly a particular culprit as he received attention for injuries at regular intervals throughout the contest.
“We played against a big team, they were capable of implementing their tactics. I am a fair play fan but we have to accept that some times players pick up slight injuries and need some treatment on the pitch,” he added.
“My players are not used to playing in front of huge numbers of spectators. The last game we conceded a goal in the last moments so we were alert this time, kept the ball and managed the time.”