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www.footballmedia.net Afshin Dastafshan - In their first ever appearance at quarter final stage of Asian Champions League (ACL) Sepahan failed to capitalise on home advantage and settled for a goalless draw against Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale that were also making their debut at ACL knock-out stages. Sepahan carrying Iran’s only hope of glory in Asia made a cautious start to the match playing with one striker upfront (Mahmoud Karimi), a tactic that did not pay-off as the visitors had the better of the first half despite Sepahan having a good run lasting some 15 minutes.

A double substitution at half time adding more firepower upfront with Emad Reza increased Sepahan’s influence in the match but it failed to produce any goals, both sides created goal scoring opportunities but Kawasaki created more clear cut chances, in the end neither side managed to convert their chances.

The match started with Sepahan having the mental edge; the Persian side had won four of their last five league matches in Iran compared with Kawasaki winning only one of their last five matches in the J-League. Although Sepahan were missing their top ACL scorer from the first round Sayed Salehi they had Persian Gulf League’s (PGL) top scorer Mahmoud Karimi, Sepahan were joint top on points in PGL table while Kawasaki were lying in ninth place in the J-League.

The points that let Sepahan down; firstly they failed to play one touch football when it mattered, time and again taking an extra touch on the ball gave Kawasaki the chance to block shots or foil Sepahan’s counter-attacks. Sepahan’s final touch also let them down; time and again they forced their way up the field only to shoot wide. Sepahan were also over-cautious in this match, I had expected them to have a more aggressive approach to the game on home soil from the word go.

Kawasaki Frontale’s performance for a team lying in ninth place in the J-League proved the strength of the J-League. Japan’s league turned professional 15 years ago; they have invested heavily in their football training facilities, stadiums, coaching and imported players such as England’s Gary Lineker to boost the profile of their League when it turned Pro in 1992. I could see the depth of professionalism in Japan football when watching Kawasaki Frontale, they had a well organised defence and outnumbered Sepahan players in their third of the pitch throughout the match, Kawasaki were also dangerous and organised in attack. They had one thing in common with Sepahan, they were unable to finish the chances they were creating and that might explain why they are in ninth place in the J-League.

Nevertheless Kawasaki will be the happier of the two sides with the share of the points. It is not all bad News for Sepahan though. An away point was crucial for Kawasaki but so was an away goal and the Japanese visitors failed in that department. This provides Sepahan with an ace card in the return leg. Kawasaki must win the match next week in order to progress to the semi finals, Sepahan however can progress to the semis with any score draw (i.e. 1-1, 2-2 etc), this will give Sepahan some comfort, the Persians must play a more aggressive game though and that includes playing with 2 strikers from the outset. Sepahan must aim to score first in the return leg, should Sepahan take the lead it would mean Kawasaki would have to push forward and score twice as a 1-1 draw would put Sepahan through. In pushing forward Kawasaki would leave spaces in the back for Sepahan to explore, a second away goal for Sepahan would finish Kawasaki off.

Kawasaki with the support of home fans will no doubt be favourites to beat Sepahan, however, Bonacic has proven his ability to plan his games and outdo his opponents, Sepahan’s away win over Saudi’s Al Shabab was masterminded by Bonacic, we might just about have seen the best of Kawasaki but Sepahan are yet to play their best as their overall performance in the first leg was way below power.