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Yadollah Akbari

HONG KONG, Nov 26 (AFP) - Iran giants Esteghlal earned a place Tuesday in the lucrative Group Stage of the Asian Champions League by the narrowest of margins.

They advanced on the away goals rule after losing 2-1 away to Neftchi in front of a partisan 20,000-capacity crowd in Uzbekistan.

Holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg in Tehran, Esteghlal appeared to be in control of the tie when Yadollah Akbari scored the opener in the 24th minute. 

Instead, the goal ignited a passionate fightback from the home side who, inspired by their fervent support in the Fergana Stadium, took the game to their illustrious opponents for most of the remainder of the match. 

To the delight of the home fans, Neftchi levelled the game four minutes into the second half when captain Sergey Ni scored following a mistake by Esteghlal goalkeeper Sayed Tabatabaei. 

The crowd had to wait just three minutes for Neftchi to take the lead as Umid Isakov braved a challenge in the area and leapt acrobatically to shoot home. 

Needing one more goal to qualify, the home side put the Esteghlal defence under immense pressure but were repeatedly denied by Tabatabaei and twice by the woodwork. 

Esteghlal, Asian Club Championship winners in 1970 and 1990, have earned a place in Group C, where they'll face seeded teams Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and the UAE's Al Ain. 

In the east, Osotspa blasted their way into Group B with a 6-3 demolition of Indian side Churchill Brothers at the Debhasdin Stadium in Bangkok. They became the second Thai club in the 16-team Group Stage, joining BEC Tero Sasana, one of the eight seeds. 

In Group B, Osotspa will face powerhouses Dalian Shide, who have just wrapped up their third successive Chinese league title, and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who recently sealed their second successive K-League title. 

Shimizu S-Pulse are expected to complete the four-team group. Japan's Emperor's Cup champions beat South China 5-0 in their first-leg encounter in Hong Kong, and play the return leg at the Nihondaira Stadium on Wednesday. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Taejon Citizen beat Mohun Bagan 2-1 in Calcutta's Salt Lake Stadium for an 8-1 aggregate victory over the three-time Indian National Football League (NFL) champions. 

Taejon now look forward to playing in Group A, where BEC Tero Sasana and Japan's Kashima Antlers are the seeded sides. Shanghai Shenhua and Geylang United are fighting for the final place in the group, with the Chinese side 3-0 up going into Wednesday's return leg in Singapore.

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