Al Wahda lose but Al Ain keep UAE hopes alive

abu dhabi - The Clarets went down to Iranian side Persepolis but The Boss down Bunyodkor

Al Wahda went down 3-2 against Iranian side Persepolis in the second round of the 2017 AFC Champions League at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Tuesday.
It was all Persepolis in the first half that saw the Iranian visitors lead by a goal. The Iranian bulldozer had run Al Wahda flat. But in the second half, Al Wahda coach Javier Aguirre injected the much needed booster - No. 10 Ismail Matar. The Al Wahda veteran gave confidence to his players to face the challenge and the warhorse led by example scoring the first goal in the 58th minute and later assisted with the second. However, his contributions weren't enough on the night.
Meanwhile in Tashkent, a brace from Omar Abdulrahman helped Al Ain beat Bunyodkor 3-2 in the AFC Champions League Group C second round match.
Al Wahda became the third team after Al Ahli and Al Jazira to suffer an early goal and get beaten. Right from the start, Iranian strikers Mehdi Taremi and Vahid Amiri were a constant threat. And in the fourth minute, the visitors from Iran scored through Amiri, who made good with the cross from Taremi.
Iranian midfielders Farshad Ahmadzadeh and Soroush Rafiei kept churning out some incisive passes that left Al Wahda defence in sea. Al Wahda backline of Hamdan Al Kamali, Salem Sultan and Rim Chang-woo were always under pressure.
The home team had its moments when in the 19th minute, Rim Chang-woo header from Hamdan Al Kamali's cross hit the crossbar.
In the first half, Al Wahda strikers Sebastian Tagliabue and Mohammed Al Hammadi were largely quiet but come second half, Matar's induction saw the team transform into an attacking unit with appetite for goals. The first came in the 58th minute through a melee that saw Matar deposit the ball from the right post beyond keeper Alireza Beiranvand's reach.
Six minutes later, Al Wahda scored again as Matar delivered a perfect cross to Tagliabue who passed onto Jorge Valdivia, who fired in to make it 2-1.
The match was played in high tempo. The Iranians showed more hunger and pressed forward in numbers. Their pressure yielded results as in the 81st minute, Mehdi Taremi levelled and in dying stages, he pulled off a winner from Soroush Rafiei's free kick. The No. 9 silenced the stadium with the winner and coach Branko Ivankovic was happy to pocket a win on return to Abu Dhabi.
In Uzbekistan, Omar converted in the 89th minute from the spot to earn their first win and three crucial points for the last year's runners-up.
It was 'Amoory' who started the proceedings with a stunner in the eighth minute. The AFC Player of the Year curled home a free-kick. However, two minutes later Vadim Cemirtan levelled for the hosts.
Then it was Al Ain winger Caio Lucas' turn to shine and he scored in the 15th minute to restore lead.
Bunyodkor's Dostonbek Khamdamov struck in 43rd minute to again level at 2-2. But their hopes were dented when defender Akramjon Komilov was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 72nd minute.
In the dying stages, Caio was brought down by Otabek Shukurov inside the area and Al Ain's talisman Omar scored with the penalty.