AFC - Sepahan coach Zlatko Kranjcar insisted that he was not disappointed by his side’s failure to find the net on Wednesday as the Iranian champions were held to a goalless draw in the first leg of the AFC Champions League semi-final against Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli.

Mohammad Reza Khalatbari hit the crossbar for the home side as both teams failed to find the breakthrough on a frustrating evening at the Foolad Shahr Stadium.

Kranjcar though was not unhappy with the result which keeps the tie wide open ahead of the return match in a fortnight’s time.

“It was a good game from both sides,” said the Croatian. “We knew we it would be tough for us and now we will be gearing up to face them again in the return leg.

“Al Ahli were trying to catch us off guard with their tactics, but despite that we created some scoring chances which we didn’t really take advantage off during the match.

“Fingers crossed those who came down with injuries will be fit for the second leg.”

Sepahan have a decent away record in Saudi Arabia in the AFC Champions League with three wins and three draws in eight matches there including a 1-1 draw against Al Ahli during the group stage in March.

And Kranjcar is confident that his side can get another good result when they meet Al Ahli again in the second leg in Jeddah.

“We are in a good position now and I promise that we can seal our semi-final spot in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “We have won against bigger teams in that country and beating Al Ahli in the second leg is not impossible for us.”