Nagoya: Javid Mahdi scored a late winner as defending champions Sanaye Giti Pasand defeated spirited Al Sadd 3-2 in their first match of the AFC Club Futsal Championship 2013 on Tuesday.
Iran international Ahmad Esmaeilpour gave the title holders a dream start by netting the opener inside the first sixty seconds before Mohammed Taheri doubled the lead just two minutes later.
Al Sadd hit back four minutes later through Samer Samih and the forward levelled the contest with his and the Qatar champions' second in the 25th minute.
Mahdi restored the Iranians' advantage in the 37th minute with what transpired to be the match-winner although Al Sadd could have salvaged a point at the death but Ibrahim Rashid faltered in a one-versus-one situation with Sanaye keeper Sepehr Mohammadi with just seconds remaining.
“I must praise my players for playing exceptionally well against a very strong opponent,” Al Sadd coach Mohammed Eisa said after the match.
“It was a tough match and after the score was 2-2 we stayed defensive but an ultimate loss of concentration did help them to score the winner.
“The whole of Sanaye squad are filled with quality so the coach had luxury to rotate players well but I must admit that we have minimum options for quality players.
“But I am not panicking, I still hope that we will sneak through the knockout stages,” he added.
“It was a difficult opening indeed and some key decisions also went against us but I trusted my players from the word go and they managed to score goals,” Sanaye coach Reza Aliabady said.
“The players are well experienced to handle these situations as I believe that they play much better than today.
“Anyway how many goals you concede or score are not important until there are all three points in the group stages so it was a job done today.
“The rotation went really well so I believe there is not much fatigue concern for Wednesday’s match,” he added.
Refrence: www.the-afc.com