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Aizawl FC travelled to Iran to play a historic tie of sorts in the picturesque Folad Sahar Stadium against Zob Ahan of Iran. It was the first time an Indian side was playing the final round of AFC Champions League qualifiers, which meant the team who would win Tuesday's match would qualify for the group stage of ACL. It was a big moment for Aizawl too as they were appearing for the first time in a continental competition.
The match had a swift beginning with Zob Ahan taking the lead as early as the 4th minute when M. Rajabzadeh converted from the penalty spot after Zob Ahan were awarded a spot kick as Lalrosanga bought down Tabrizi inside the box. Aizawl though did equalise when a Laldinliana cross was lifted into the net by Romanian Anderi Ionescu.
The first half ended at 1-1.
The second half turned out to be a completely one-sided affair with Zob Ahan scoring two more goals and missing more than a dozen of chances. In the end, the scoreline read 3-1. Let's take a look at the player ratings of Tuesday's game.
Zob Ahan
M. Mazaheri (6/10): Mazaheri didn’t have much to do during the 90 minutes, he hardly had touches of the ball in the second half. He didn’t have to make any convincing saves and had a very quiet day under the bar. He couldn’t have done much to save the goal he conceded.
V.Mohammadzadeh (6/10): Mohammadzadeh didn’t have much defending to do but looked shaky whenever called upon. However, he did help the team to keep possession of the ball.
G. Gvelesiani (6.5/10): He was one of the most impressive defenders for Zob Ahan even in a game where they didn’t have to defend much. It was his forward runs, snatching and distribution that was actually impressive. He did tend to give away freekicks which could have hurt them had Aizawl taken advantage of those situations.
M Nejadmahdi (6/10): Nejadmahdi had a hot and cold day at the office. He looked very fragile in defence but was equally imposing while attacking or keeping possession of the ball. It was his hesitant defending which allowed Aizawl to equalise.
M Sattari (6.5/10): Sattari was a busy man tonight and made numerous runs down the flanks for Zob Ahan. He worked his socks off for the team, and even in the first half when the team was looking short of ideas they played the ball to Sattari.
M Rajabzadeh (7.5/10): He converted the penalty with ease and gave Zob Ahan the early lead they wanted. Other than that he played a compelling role in midfield, as he built swift fast attacks from the middle of the park.
H Houhamdan (7.5/10): He was a commanding presence in the middle of the park. He was the main reason why most of the Aizawl attacks were broken down in the midfield. He was brilliant while anticipating and distributing the balls.
Mohammadreza Hosseini (7.5/10): Hosseini had a brilliant game. He provided the all-important assist for the second goal. His passing and delivery into the box were simply superb. He also had a couple of chances which he failed to convert.
M Tabrizi (8.5/10): Tabrizi scored two goals and earned the all-important penalty which resulted in the first goal. He was a thorn in the flesh for the Aizawl defence as he chased down everything, hassled and harried the Aizawl defenders for every loose ball. He also created some brilliant chances for his teammates too.
M Fakhreddini (7/10): Fakhreddini worked very hard tonight and played some superb balls into the box. Fakhreddini though was guilty of missing some sitters too. He also saw some of his chances being saved by Avilash Paul.
Kiros (6.5/10): The player who wasted the most number of chances for Zob Ahan was Kiros. Had Kiros converted even half the chances he got, we would have been seeing a tennis score instead of a 3-1.
Aizawl FC
Avilash Paul (7/10): The busiest and best player on the pitch for Aizawl. He seemed to be called in action every two minutes. Avilash made some brilliant saves and he is the main reason why Aizawl can come back from Iran with their heads held high.
Lalramhmunmawia (5/10): Lalramhmunmawia tried to keep the defence as compact as possible and defended deep, but his passing and forward movement was very poor which often left Mama isolated upfront. He also seemed to keep the ball at his feet for a long time which hampered Aizawl's overall gameplay.
Masih Saighani (6/10): Masih tired his best to keep the likes of Tabrizi and Kiros quiet, and was quite successful, but at the end the quality of the Iranian forwards paid dividends as Masih looked to be a shade tired during the second half, which allowed the Zob Ahan players to pile on more pressure.
C. Lalrosanga (5/10): Lalrosanga was all over the place, maybe the occasion of an AFC Champions League playoff got to the lad, as he never really settled into the game. He made a rash tackle in the opening stages of the game to gift Zob Ahan a penalty, and he never really recovered from that incident as the likes of Tabrizi and Fakhreddini went past him with ease.
R. Laldinliana (6.5/10): Laldinliana was probably the best defender for Aizawl FC. He worked his heart out on the right side of defence, and he also provided a superb cross for Ionescu to equalise in the first half. He was also one of those players who was frequently called into action and never shied away from a tackle or the chance to venture forward.
A Jaryan (6.5/10): Alfred tried his best to keep the ball, and control the midfield but wasn’t much successful. He though did break down some crucial Zob Ahan attacks in the midfield but couldn’t do much going forward.
Sylo Malsawmtulunga (5/10): Mama hardly had touches of the ball, he did a good job to drop deep and help out Lalramhmunmawia but wasn’t very successful in keeping the Iranians at bay. Mama though did get a good chance to provide Aizawl the lead in the first half, but his shot was deflected out for a corner.
K Lalthathanga (5/10): He worked hard and dropped deep, but he tried to keep the ball too long at his feet which eventually didn’t work in his favour, plus he tried to show off too many fancy flicks and touches which eventually handed Zob Ahan the possession. His passing too wasn’t at all impressive.
D Lalrinmuana (5.5/10): David was silent like a shadow today. He ventured forward very few times and managed to gain a free kick from a good position, but apart from that he didn’t do anything convincing. It was actually disheartening to see David commit so many miss passes as he is someone who is regarded as one of the best passers in Indian football.
A Zohmingmawia (5.5/10): Albert tired his level best, he dropped deep moved to the flanks ran through the centre but couldn’t do much when he had the ball at his feet, he was outmuscled by the superior Iranian players most of the times. And his physical weakness was on display for the most parts of the game.
A Ionescu (7/10): He scored a brilliant opportunistic goal, and made a few darting runs in the first half. Other than that Ionescu was lonely upfront and dropped deep to help out his side in defence. He also seemed to have problems fitting in as the makeshift striker for Saturday’s game as Aizawl was missing their main striker Dodoz.
