AFC.com
Fans at Lokomotiv Stadium were treated to a fine
display of attacking football as PFC Lokomotiv came from two goals down to
defeat Al Rayyan 3-2 on Matchday Six of the 2019 AFC Champions League Group B
on Tuesday.
Both teams had already been eliminated prior to their last
group game with Lokomotiv sitting third with four points, while Al Rayyan were
bottom of the group with three points from their 2-1 win in the reverse
fixture.
The visitors got off to a flying start, taking the lead
within just 57 seconds of kick-off. Lokomotiv players looked shaky in
possession as they attempted to build up from the back, allowing Al Rayyan
players to apply pressure high up the field.
Goalkeeper Mamur Ikramov failed to deal with a backpass,
hoofing the ball into the path of Rodrigo Tabata who intercepted the ball
inside the box and fired into the back of the net to hand Al Rayyan the perfect
start.
Things looked rosier for coach Gilson de Souza in his final
game in charge of Al Rayyan as the Qataris doubled their lead halfway through
the opening period.
Tabata curled an out-swinging corner that was met by the
head of Gonzalo Viera who placed his header into the bottom corner to make it
2-0.
A lapse in concentration allowed Lokomotiv a way back into
the game as Husniddin Gafurov supplied an outside-of-the-boot pass for Sardor
Mirzayev who found himself in plenty of space inside Al Rayyan box and curled
in his side’s first of the game.
The goal gave the home side a morale boost and Andrey
Fedorov’s men came from the halftime break a different side.
Within just two minutes of the restart, Arslanmurat Amanov
had advanced down the right and played a cross-field pass to Temurkhuja
Abdukholikov who controlled and calmly placed the ball past Al Rayyan
goalkeeper Fahd Younis from a tight angle to bring the match to square one.
Amanov and Abdukholikov combined again to seal the win for
Lokomotiv in the 61st minute in a similar fashion to the side’s second goal.
This time around, Amanov dribbled deeper into Al Rayyan’s
box before whipping a low cross that Abdukholikov met first time into the back
of the net to complete the hosts’ comeback.
The result means Lokomotiv ended the campaign with seven
points in third place, four points better off than Al Rayyan who finished in
last place.