Late equaliser denies Goa historic Champions League win vs Al Rayyan

Margao, April 27 (IANS) An 89th minute equaliser helped Qatar's Al Rayyan deny FC Goa a historic 1-0 win in the AFC Champions League at the Fatorda Stadium.Jorge Ortiz gave Goa the lead in the third minute of the Group E fixture on Monday, but Ali Ferydoon equalised in the 89th minute of the match. Goa were already out of reckoning for a place in the knockouts after UAE's Al Wahda beat last year's runners-up Persepolis 1-0 earlier in the day.Goa, who have had an impressive debut campaign in the Champions League, were trailing in the possession stats in the first half but Al Rayyan could not convert that into a goal. However, the Indian Super League team saw far more of the ball in the second period.Goa are the third in the group with three points while Al Rayyan are fourth with two. Persepolis remain the group leaders with 12 points while Al Wahda are second with 10.

--IANS rkm/sdr/