Sepahan Coach Morais Rues Dropped Points: ACL 2023-24
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head coach Jose Morais was left to rue a missed opportunity after Sepahan football team was held to a 2-2 draw by Air Force Club in Group C of the AFC Champions League 2023-24 on Monday.
The Iranian side looked to have the points in the bag after goals from Mohammad Daneshgar and Mohammad Ghorbani overturned Ali Jasim's opener. The 19-year-old, however, struck again in the 89th minute for the Iraqi side to deny Sepahan the win.
Morais said it was a pity his team could not see out the match at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil.
“I did not expect this from the match beforehand. Air Force Club are a good team and had good players. We were ready for the match, but because they hadn’t played in the league yet, we didn't know much about them, but they knew a lot about our team because we had played a few matches,” said Morais.
Morais said Sepahan must learn to better manage its game if it is to advance to the knockout stage.
“In my opinion, we should have managed the difficult situations we faced better, but the players gave their best. We were able to control the game most of the time; It's a pity that we conceded a goal, even though we were in control,” the Portuguese coach added.
Sepahan will next play Al Ittihad on October 2. The Saudi Arabian side kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 win over Uzbekistan's AGMK FC on Monday.