Muscat: Brazilian striker Ailton came off the bench to score Al Hilal’s decisive second against Tractorsazi Tabriz on Tuesday as the two-time Asian Club Championship winners picked up a 2-1 win that takes them through to the Round of 16 of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
Ailton, who replaced Yasir Al Shahrani seven minutes earlier, struck in the 72nd minute after Salem Al Dawsari had put Al Hilal in front in the 14th minute only for Aloys Nong to level three minutes after the restart.
Needing a win to be sure of advancing, the result ensured Al Hilal claimed second spot in Group C ahead of Pakhtakor, whose 3-0 win in Tashkent against Al Jazira proved to be academic as the Saudi side advanced in second place with one point more than the Uzbek club.
“We deserved to win tonight despite all the circumstances that we had in the previous period including the three consecutive defeats we suffered either in the local league or in the AFC Champions League,” said Al Hilal coach Georgios Donis.
“We didn’t play with an offensive formation because we didn’t have the suitable players and the introduction of Ailton was at the right time. He proved that he’s an important player as he scored the winner.”
Al Hilal took the lead after just 14 minutes when Nawaf Al Abid surged into the Tractorsazi penalty area before cutting the ball back to Salem Al Dawsari, who took one touch to control the ball before firing his left-foot shot across goalkeeper Mohammadreza Akhbari and into the far corner.
The Iranians, however, restored parity two minutes into the second half when Sina Ashoori’s long ball from the back was met by the head of Al Hilal defender Digao, but his clearance went only as far as Nong and his left-foot volley from 25 yards bobbled into the right corner of Fahad Al Thunayyan’s goal.
Al Hilal grew increasingly desperate in their search for the winner they required to stay in the competition and Donis threw caution to the wind when he withdrew defender Al Shamrani and replaced him with Ailton.
The move paid off within minutes when the Brazilian forward pressured the Tractorsazi defence into a mistake in their own penalty area, taking possession before striking a right-foot shot that beat Akhbari to his left.
Just minutes later Carlos Eduardo could have doubled his side’s advantage, only for his header from close range to come back off the post but despite the miss Al Hilal held on to pick up all three points against Tractorsazi, who finish as group winners with the Saudis in second place.
“We played well and faced a strong challenge from Al Hilal. They wanted to win and they achieved their target,” said Tractorsazi coach Amir Ghalehnoy. “We rested several players in order to avoid injuries as we have already secured our place in the knockout stage.
“The defeat has several advantages as we know the mistakes we need to fix for the next matches. Things will be different in the next round but we should prepare for the best teams. We will have to give our best if we want to continue in the competition.”
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