Al Gharafa's Homam Ahmed vies for the ball with Foolad's S. Ansari during yesterday's match.
Qatar's Al Gharafa and Iran’s Foolad Khouzestan settled for a 0-0 draw in Group C of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2022 yesterday.
Foolad dominated possession for the most the match but a disciplined Al Gharafa backline held on as both teams shared the points.
There were few chances early in the encounter as Foolad, despite controlling the match, struggled to craft any decent attempts with Al Gharafa defending in numbers.
With Al Gharafa’s backline showing no signs of cracking, Mohammad Abshak tried his luck with a long-range effort that sailed over the bar.
The Iranian side continued to press for an opening goal and Al Gharafa’s goalkeeper Yousef Hassan was called into action to deny Brazilian Luciano Mendes’ tame header from a delightful Vahid Heydarieh cross in the 28th minute.
As half-time approached, Foolad maintained their fluid passing and Abshak had the next best chance only to pull his shot wide inside the penalty box.
Foolad started the second 45 minutes in similar fashion but Al Gharafa slowly grew into the match with a rare attack, Homam Ahmed bursting from the wing but his effort was blocked by Shahab Gordan at the near post after the hour mark.
Malian defender Moussa Coulibaly missed a glorious chance in front of goal in the 76th minute, hitting his shot over the bar as the clocked ticked.
Foolad were again on the attack with five minutes left on the clock but Mendes failed to find the back of the net, rattling the bar with a powerful shot after timing his run perfectly inside the box as the teams settled for a draw.
