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www.footballmedia.net Afshin Dastafshan - Iran’s sole representative in the Asian Champions League (ACL) Sepahan of Esfahan are one step away from making their first ever appearance in an ACL quarter final, there is still a hurdle for Sepahan to overcome in the form of Persian Gulf rivals Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia.

First and foremost Sepahan have already defeated the odds in this campaign by beating group favourites Al Shabab on Saudi soil and taking prime position in Group D with only one match remaining. The two sides are level on 10 points but Sepahan top the group by virtue of head-to-head clash setting the scene for a make or break encounter between the two sides in the final qualifying match on May 23^rd.

Having watched Sepahan and Al Shabab matches in this campaign including their latest games on May 9^th I would like to highlight the following;

Al Shabab are a professional side, they pass the ball well and work as a unit, they are a well composed and patient team, they have pace and are dangerous on counter-attack, their main weakness to my surprise is inconsistency in their finishing! Al Shabab have dropped points in two of their five matches; against Sepahan they were the superior side and dominated the match but failed to score despite creating at least five goal scoring opportunities and lost the match 1-0. Having beaten Al Ittihad of Syria 4-0 at home Al Shabab dominated the match in the return leg but only managed to score one goal, Syrian keeper Karkar had an extremely good day and was equal to Saudi onslaught, Al Shabab should have won the match by three or four goals, the match ended 1-1.
Sepahan and their fans are a more passionate side than Al Shabab. Sepahan have proven to be inconsistent on the pitch in this campaign though displaying a mix of solid football particularly against Al Shabab but also looking an amateur side particularly against Al Ain giving away a winning position at home. Sepahan too have difficulty putting their chances away, their latest 5-0 win over Syria’s Al Ittihad could be misleading, whilst taking no credit away from Sepahan on a glorious day for them and Iran football it should be noted that Al Ittihad played their poorest game I have seen from them to date (including last seasons’ ACL games), Al Ittihad already eliminated from this ACL group were a devastated side that entered this match on the back of poor league results and had just conceded the Syrian league to archrivals Al Karama. Sepahan on the other hand entered this match on the back of a 4-0 league win over Esteghlal of Ahvaz, although scoring five goals Sepahan missed more than five clear cut chances to score including a penalty kick, such inconsistency would be punished by the more powerful Al Shabab that have no option but to win, goal scoring opportunities against Al Shabab will be far fewer. For the record Mohammad Savari did well in goal for Sepahan in the absence of Petrosiyan who was dropped by Bonacic on disciplinary grounds, Savari made three saves in the second half.

Sepahan coaching team led by Luka Bonacic have done a great job in this campaign, against Al Shabab Sepahan implemented their game plan successfully by dominating the midfield and centre defence which forced Al Shabab to the flanks, effective Sepahan man marking blocked Al Shabab attempts to break Sepahan defence with crosses, Sepahan totally shut the Saudis out, Petrosiyan made a string of vital saves.

Sepahan will have to plan and implement their return leg against Al Shabab effectively or they will pay a heavy price. Al Shabab must beat Sepahan to progress to the quarter finals; they will therefore be attacking from the word go. It would be suicidal for Sepahan to take to the pitch looking for the draw they need to qualify. It is unlikely that Sepahan could repeat their game plan from the first leg successfully, Al Shabab will have analysed and learned from their mistakes, in my opinion Sepahan should take the initiative and kill Al Shabab off by aiming to score first and taking the lead, should Al Shabab score first they would force Sepahan to attack and equalise, that would leave space in the back for Al Shabab to explore and to increase their lead over Sepahan.

Sepahan are 90 minutes away from making history, one solid performance required; Consistency and professionalism in the name of the game, Sepahan should remember the lessons learnt by Paas FC in the ACL two seasons ago where a 3-1 home lead over Al Ain and a place in ACL semi final was thrown away, the match ended 3-3 and Paas playing at home were eliminated.