Continuing their poor form, Al Jazira played a goalless draw against bottom-placed Tractor Sazi in a Group A clash of the AFC Champions League in Abu Dhabi on Monday
abu dhabi — Continuing their poor form, Al Jazira played a goalless draw against bottom-placed Tractor Sazi in a Group A clash of the AFC Champions League in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
With the draw, the Abu Dhabi giants missed out on a chance to build a bigger gap between them and third-placed Al Gharafa who drew 1-1 with Al Ahli in the other match of the group on Monday.
Al Jazira remain in second place with four points after three matches, while Tractor Sazi remain in last place. The Iranian club haven’t even scored a single goal in their three games so far. Meanwhile, Henk ten Cate’s team, which remain 16 points behind leaders Al Ain in the Arabian Gulf League standings, struggled again in the final third against Tractor Sazi on Monday.
Al Jazira’s fans were still hoping for a miracle when Salim Rashid took a free kick in the 94th minute, but his effort didn’t threaten to break the deadlock as the referee blew the final whistle.
Ten Cate would obviously be disappointed with the result at home. A comfortable home win would have put them in a strong position to qualify for the next round. But now they would have to face some tough test in the remaining matches to progress from the group stage.
Saudi club Al Ahli are in commanding position with seven from three matches and Al Gharafa are in third place with four points. Al Jazira never had a great record against Tractor Sazi. They knew they will face a tough test against a team that have beaten them thrice in four previous Champions League clashes.
And this was the third time in a row that Al Jazira failed to find the back of the net against Tractor Sazi in the AFC Champions League.
Al Jazira have traditionally struggled against clubs from Iran in the premier Asian club competition. They had won only three of their previous 16 games against Iranian clubs. And this was the seventh straight game against an Iranian club which they failed to win.
The reigning Arabian Gulf League champions also failed to score in their sixth straight game against a club from Iran.
On Monday night, they never looked confident enough to score either. Their best chance in the first half came in the 41st minute when Ahmed Al Hashmi’s right-footer from outside the box was blocked by goalkeeper Jordi.
Then at the start of the second half, it was Tractor Sazi that found themselves in a promising position. But Ehsan Pahlevan’s effort from the left side of the box didn’t trouble Al Jazira goalkeeper Ali Khaseif. Meanwhile, in a Group C game, UAE’s Al Wasl lost to Persepolis of Iran 2-0.