AFC Champions League Two 2025

Indian Super League club FC Goa began their AFC Champions League Two 2025-26 campaign with a 2-0 loss to Iraq’s Al Zawraa SC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Wednesday.

Late goals by Reziq Bani Hani and Nizar Al Rashdan in each half helped Al Zawraa get the win as the Gaurs struggled to make the most of their chances in their ACL 2 opener.

The visitors nearly drew first blood in the fifth minute when a slick move carved open FC Goa’s defence, only for a Qasim Majid effort to rattle the woodwork.

The Indian football club had a chance of their own three minutes later when Dejan Drazic whipped in a cross for Javier Siverio, whose header went over the crossbar.

After the eventful start to the match, both sides settled into their rhythm as the half wore on with Al Zawraa enjoying the lion's share of possession but struggling to fashion clear-cut chances.

Al Zawraa saw another attempt denied when goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari saved brilliantly to deny a Nizar Al Rashdan header from a freekick.

However, their pressure finally yielded results a minute before half-time when frontman Reziq Bani Hani pounced on his own blocked effort to slot home with his second attempt and give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half saw the Gaurs create more chances than Al Zawraa, although their finishing mostly failed to test the goalkeeper and left a lot to be desired.

A Borja Herrera cross into the box from the right found Javier Siverio but the Spanish forward’s acrobatic attempt lacked the power to threaten the opposition goal.

As the half wore on, FC Goa pushed more players forward in search of an equaliser and created numerous chances from open play and set-pieces without ever managing to apply the finishing touch.

The Gaurs also rode their luck as Al Zawraa hit the woodwork for the second time in the match during the last minute of regulation time.

The reprieve gave the hosts one last chance to get an equaliser as Javier Siverio had another headed opportunity in the fifth minute of injury time but failed to hit the target yet again.

Soon after Siverio’s miss, Al Zawraa put the game to bed after Nizar Al Rashdan managed to squeeze his shot through a host of legs and beat the goalkeeper to make it 2-0 as the Gaurs began their AFC Champions League Two campaign with a defeat.

FC Goa will face Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol in their next Group D encounter on October 1.

Organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the ACL 2 is the continent’s second-tier club football competition, a rung below the AFC Champions League Elite. Sharjah FC of the UAE lifted the inaugural title last season.

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