Al Ahli’s Sekou Yansane (foreground) celebrates his goal with teammates.
Doha, Qatar: Sekou Yansane’s extra-time strike sent Qatar’s Al Ahli into the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League (ACL) Two as they edged Sepahan 1-0 in the second leg for a 3-2 aggregate victory at Al Thumama Stadium yesterday.
Yansane’s decisive goal came in the 91st minute, giving coach Younes Ali and his side a moment to celebrate after a tense clash. With the first-leg clash having ended 2-2, both teams approached the second leg with intensity, producing a first half that swung from end to end.
Sepahan started brightly, immediately putting Al Ahli’s defence under pressure. The Iranian side thought they had taken the lead in the seventh minute through Kaveh Rezaei, but VAR intervened to rule the goal out for offside.
Al Ahli regrouped quickly, and the hosts began to threaten. Sepahan goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini was called into action repeatedly, first blocking a long-range strike from Driss Fettouhi before producing another key save to deny Ahmed Reyad, whose volley from Fettouhi’s assist proved Al Ahli’s most dangerous opening-half chance.
The tempo remained high and Al Ahli’s goalkeeper Marwan Badreldin also kept his side in the game, denying Arash Rezavand and Amin Hazbavi as Sepahan continued to probe. Reyad and Michel Vlap tested Hosseini again, but the deadlock held through the first half.
The second half saw a slightly slower pace, but chances continued at both ends.
Badreldin denied Mohammad Mohebi, while Sepahan’s keeper kept out Erik Exposito’s effort from outside the box.
Still, it was extra time where the breakthrough finally came.
In the first minute, Yansane pounced on a defensive lapse, slotting a precise left-footed finish into the centre of the net to give Al Ahli the lead.
Sepahan responded with urgency, coming closest in the 107th minute when Mohammad Daneshgar’s low shot was brilliantly saved by a diving Badreldin.
Al Ahli held firm under the Iranian side’s sustained pressure, securing a hard-fought win and a place in the continental quarter-finals.
