Lavish Pas puts the icing on IPL title

IRNA - The third Iran Pro League champion Pas won Peace and Friendship Cup despite squandering scoring chances here Friday.
Although the tournament was taken by the four participating teams as a good opportunity to put their power to the test, the IPL runner-up Esteqlal of Tehran was seeking revenge in its confrontation with Pas in an almost empty Azadi stadium, west of the capital.
Decimated by absence of national players, who are prepping for the second-leg World Cup qualifier against Jordan in Amman on Sept 8, the two sides played careless football.
Pas missed a handful of scoring chances during the game.
In a spectacular effort, Pas national striker Arash Borhani cleared a handful of blues in the second minute to leave Meysam Maniei alone with an empty net to find but he sent the ball out of the woodwork.
A carbon copy of the early event happened to Borhani two minutes later and he did it again on seven minutes as if a slow motion was replayed.
To keep face, Esteqlal made an attack in the 10th minute by new signing Fred Malekian whose kick was easily saved by Pas keeper Nima Nakissa.
Mehdi Shiri, who has newly joined the blues, curled a free-kick inches above the Pas bar on 15 minutes.
Pas forwards proved extremely careless as the league holder missed another gilt-edged chance in the 22nd minute.
Borhani showed he was not a good marksman. The striker dribbled past two defenders to find the net 13 minutes after the restart but failed to beat Esteqlal goalie George Tupolevic in a man-to-man
challenge.
Mostafa Ekrami`s superb free-kick was well saved by Nakissa 10 minutes from time.
Borhani rounded his marker on the edge of the penalty box on 88 minutes, slipping the ball for Moein Nezamoleslami, who unbelievably sent it wide above the crossbar.
Esteqlal blamed its hoodoo as defender Pirouz Qorbani`s headers were denied twice by the bar in the 90th minute and injury time.
The goalless draw handed Pas the title on seven points.
Earlier, Al Shaab and Al Wasl, both from the United Arab Emirates, fought for the third title. Al Shaab won 3-2.