Asian Champions League. Al Wahda (UAE)-Pakhtakor (UZB) 1-1
footballasia.com
September 15Ildar Magdeev scored with just five minutes remaining as Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor held Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates 1-1 in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-finals clash on Wednesday.
The match, played in front of a full house at the Al Nhayan Stadium, saw few chances for both sides with Al Wahda dominating in the first half while the Uzbeks had the upper hand in the second period.
Al Wahda had a good start and turned their early pressure into a goal after 10 minutes as a long cross from Bashir Saeid reached Cote d’Ivoire striker Antonin Nantcho who put the ball past the Uzbek goalkeeper Ignitay Nesterov.
Al Wahda had another notable effort in the 36th minute as Antonin flicked Fahed Masoud’s cross on for Mali Olympic striker Tenema Ndiaye who headed just wide.
The closing minutes of the first half saw Pakhtakor putting some good pressure on the Al Wahda goal but the Uzbeks were kept at bay by Al Wahda goalkeeper Husein Ali, who stopped a header by Server Djebarov just before the break.
Pakhtakor dominanted midfield in the second period as Al Wahda dropped back into defence in an attempt to protect their lead and the tempo of the game dropped as Pakhtakor were continually frustrated by Husein Ali.
However, the visitors got a well deserved equalizer as they increased their pressure towards the end of the game. With just five minutes left, midfielder Ildar Magdeev levelled the score as he broke down the left before beating Husein Ali with a tricky shot at the near post.
Pakhtakor continued to dominate as they went in search of a winner by Al Wahda held out for the draw. The Emirates side will need to improve though if they hope to get a result in Tashkent next Wednesday in order to advance to the AFC Champions League semi-finals.