Soccer-Iran's Persepolis and Naft book ACL Last 16 spots

May 7 (Reuters) - Persepolis boss Branko Ivankovic was grateful to a bumper crowd of 100,000 fans in Tehran for helping his exhausted side through to the last 16 of the AFC Champions League for the first time since 2012. The weary nine-times Iranian champions overcame Uzbeks Bunyodkor 2-1 on Tuesday after an awkward 72nd minute own goal by the stretching Obin Djurabaev ensured they advanced as Group A runners-up behind Lekhwiya of Qatar. "I would like to thank the fans who created a wonderful atmosphere for this game," the Croat said. "My players fought until the end as they were dying from exhaustion in the dressing room. I'm proud of our fans who gave such enthusiasm to my players." Persepolis knew only a win at home on Tuesday would guarantee they advanced to the knockout stages, with any slip up giving an opportunity for Al Nassr to leapfrog them. But the Saudi champions and current domestic league leaders were beaten 3-1 at home by Michael Laudrup's Lekhwiya, who topped the tough group. Lekhwiya will face Qatar Stars League rivals and 2011 ACL champions Al Sadd in the last 16, while Persepolis will take on last year's runners-up, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia. "We were in the toughest group alongside with the Saudi Arabian champions, the Qatar champions and the best team in Uzbekistan," Ivankovic added. "Now we have the same chance against Al Hilal which I believe is a better team than Al Nassr." Persepolis were joined in the last 16 by compatriots Naft Tehran, who advanced as Group B runners-up despite a 3-0 loss to Emiratis Al-Ain on Tuesday. The tournament debutants needed a point to guarantee a knockout berth but goals by Omar Abdulrahman, Asamoah Gyan and Jires Kembo Ekoko in the final 30 minutes left them sweating and sealed top spot for the UAE champions. Naft, though, were grateful to the already eliminated Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia, whose surprising 2-0 win in Uzbekistan ended Pakhtakor's knockout round hopes. "We went into the match looking for a win, but we failed to do so although we are happy that we qualified to the knockout stage which is the most important thing for us," Naft coach Alireza Mansourian said. - - LAST 16 MATCHES First legs to be played May 19 and 20. Second legs to be played Mat 26 and 27. West Asia Al Sadd (Qatar) v Lekhwiya (Qatar) Persepolis (Iran) v Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) Al Ahli (UAE) v Al Ain (UAE) Naft Tehran (Iran) v Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) East Asia Suwon Bluewings (South Korea) v Kashiwa Reysol (Japan) Jeonbuk Motors (South Korea) v Beijing Guoan (China) FC Seoul (South Korea) v Gamba Osaka (Japan) Seongnam (South Korea) v Guangzhou Evergrande (China) (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore, editing by Nick Mulvenney)