Tehran giants Esteghlal will face Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq in the final round of play-offs for the 2012 Asian Champions League.
Esteghal overcame Zob Ahan 2-0 in their qualifier on Thursday with Khosro Heidari and Arash Borhani on target while former Premier League defender Jlloyd Samuel was the star of the show with two assists.
Esteghlal will now face Al Ettifaq, who are coached by ex-Iran national team boss Branko Ivankovic, in Tehran on February 18.
Blues boss Parviz Mazloumi said they prepared well for the game.
“We are thinking about Ettifaq from today. I hope even more fans come as we’re now talking about the name of Iran,” Mazloumi told reporters.
“I congratulate the Zob Ahan technical staff for helping put on an attractive match and I thank the fans for supporting us in the rain.”
Zob Ahan coach Mansour Ebrahimzadeh, who led the club to the 2010 ACL final, said: “In the end, we lost thanks to two mistakes.”
“Nobody picked up Samuel. Until the second goal we had all the possession and they were thinking about the counter attack.”
