Persepolis Hasn’t Lost Hope Yet, Alireza Beiranvand Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand rued his side’s sloppy second-half performance against Kashima Antlers but said they have not lost their hope of winning the AFC Champions League title yet.
Persepolis conceded two goals against the Japanese team in the first leg of the ACL final at Kashima Soccer Stadium on Saturday.
“We started the match very well,” said Beiranvand, whose side were reduced to 10 men after Siamak Nemati was dismissed late on for a second bookable offence.
"We made one or two good opportunities that unfortunately did not lead to goals. We lost our concentration in the second half and conceded two goals.
“This is what has happened and we can’t do anything about it. Now we have to concentrate to get properly ready for the next match.”
“We haven’t lost hope yet and there is no doubt that Kashima is going to have a tough match in Tehran,” he said. “We know very well that we can’t lose our chance of a lifetime in front of our fans in Tehran. We will fight for the championship and I am 100 percent sure that it will happen.
“We promise that we won’t let our fans go back home sad after the second leg. I hope they will fill the stadium again from hours before the kick off. I ask them to give us support and energy from now and I hope something special will happen.
“We have proved that we can come back and beat teams stronger than Kashima and I hope we can do it again this time,” Beiranvand said.