Isfahan: Goalkeeper Jalal Hassan has admitted that Al Zawraa were happy to come away from the Islamic Republic of Iran with a point after the Iraqi side opened their 2019 AFC Champions League Group A campaign with a 0-0 draw against Zobahan on Monday. 



The game at Foolad Shahr Stadium marked the first time an Iraqi side had appeared in the competition since Air Force Club and Erbil in 2008.

Al Zawraa spent much of the game on the back foot, with Zobahan posting 24 shots on goal across the 90 minutes, but the Iraqi backline remained resolute to ensure a happy return to a competition they last graced in 2007.



“Playing at the opponent's ground, it's better to get a point than to lose,” said Hassan, who captained Iraq at the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 in January.

“Al Zawraa are representing Iraqi football, which has returned to the AFC Champions League. Of course, this is a huge and difficult tournament. Zobahan are a good team with a lot of experience in this competition.”

The visitors could have opened the scoring inside 10 minutes but Jabbar Kareem headed just wide, before Zobahan started to take control of proceedings.

 


Group A: Zobahan FC vs Al Zawraa Club

Hassan produced a flying save to tip Vahid Mohammadzadeh’s header wide 10 minutes before the interval and then a fine reactive save to deny Amir Motahari soon after.

Hekeem Shaker’s Al Zawraa almost snatched a goal with 12 minutes remaining but Mohanad Abdulraheem's effort was off target after a quick breakaway, before Hassan tipped wide from Motahari as full-time approached.

“Today's game was important for us, but we implemented the coach's instructions and the players were up to the task,” added Hassan.

 

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الاتحاد الاسيوي يختار جلال حسن افضل لاعب في مباراة ذوب اهن و #الزوراء في الجولة الاولى لدوري ابطال اسيا. #يلا_زوراء #دوري_ابطال_اسيا #ACL2019

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“We still have a long journey ahead of us. We have struggled a bit in the league but we promise our fans that we will perform better for them.

“I hope they will continue to support us. They're the biggest fan base in Iraq and we hope we can repay them.”

Al Zawraa will create history next Monday when they host the first AFC Champions League match to ever be played in Iraq, with the United Arab Emirates’ Al Wasl the visitors to Karbala International Stadium.

Al Wasl defeated Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr 1-0 in the other Group A fixture on Monday.


Source: the-afc.com