The surprise ending for Al-Hilal and quite differently, a rejoicing one for Persepolis came when in 90+2 minute of the match, a ball was sent into the goal of Al-Hilal by its own man, Diago, Brazilian defender who was grappling with taking the ball exactly on the line out; an event that sent waves of happiness into the Azadi Stadium and the fans who would otherwise have been disgruntled in the prospect of a goalless draw and the more horrible scenario of a loss which would have sent Al-Hilal to quarterfinal of Asian Champions League 2015.
The match kicked off in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, 19:30 local time, the Malaysian referee decreed this; Nagur Emir bin Nour Mohammed, who was a bane for Al-Hilal, since he denied a goal for the Saudi guest in the first half 28th minute by the verdict of his aide, who announced outright off-side position.
The Saudis were undeniably under the effect of more than 100,000 people, avid fans of capital’s popular club. Branko Ivancovic had sent to the green frame Sosha Makani as goalkeeper, Hamidreza Aliasgari, Reza Nourmohammadi, Michael Omania, Babak Hatami, Mohammad Nouri, Mehdi Taremi, Hadi Nowrouzi, Omid Alishah, Ali Alipour, and Ahmad Nourollahi.
The first half was a good half for Persepolis, since they had displayed a modest and acceptable performance; however, this was Al-Hilal who came to claim the field and the ball to plan dangerous strikes which targeted Persepolis’s central line of defense; apart from Al-Hilal’s goal which was denied authenticity, in last minute of the first half, Nowrouzi missed an opportunity found the ball accidently before himself; however, his shoot was far from being strong and the goalkeeper received it easily.
By the beginning of the second half, Persepolis stole the thunder of Al-Hilal to create net positions for its strikers; however, all proved unavailing. A notable event in the second half 88th minute was referee’s sending out of the match of Al-Hilal’s Salman Faraj, who recived his second yellow card. Just before the end of the third minute of the added times Persepolis found solace in finding a goal by Al-Hilal’s defender who opened the score for the host. The tempo was high among the fans.
The return match will be played in Malik bin Fahad Stadium in Riyadh next Tuesday.
Persepolis will need an organized defense line and it’s staccato of strikes to save its deposit of merely single goal in Tehran; a feat Branko’s men would be capable of even in Saudi Arabia itself.