ACL Matchday Two: Iran’s Tractor Sazi Beaten by Qatar’s Al Gharafa
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Mehdi Taremi fired Al Gharafa to a 3-0 home victory over Tractorsazi Tabriz in Matchday Two of the 2018 AFC Champions League Group A on Monday.
Taremi powered in a header from Othman Al Yahri’s cross just 11 minutes into the match.
Back-to-back defensive mistakes from Sime Gregov cost Tractor Sazi another goal 10 minutes later.
The Croatian was first dispossessed by Taremi who out-muscled him to move clear on goal before selflessly squaring for Wesley Sneijder who had the empty goal at his mercy.
However, Gregov has recovered just in time to intercept Taremi’s pass, only to fluff his lines and watch the ball roll into the back of the net from his attempted clearance.
Tractor Sazi was thrown a lifeline six minutes before the break when Rubert Quijada brought down Mohammad Naderi inside the box, but Mehdi Mehdipour saw his powerful strike from the spot parried away by goalkeeper Yousef Hassan.
Taremi had the chance to double his tally for the night, but his 75th minute penalty was saved by goalkeeper Jordi.
The Iranian international, however, made up for it with a close-range finish to round the scoring in the dying seconds of the game.
The Qatari side welcomes Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli to Doha in Matchday Three while Tractor Sazi travels to Abu Dhabi to face Al Jazira.
