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IRNA - The 14th-week matches of the 16-strong
fifth Iran Pro League on Dec 15 and 16:
PACESETTER ESTEQLAL HUMBLES ZOB AHAN
Table-topper Esteqlal tamed Isfahan's Zob Ahan 3-0 in Azadi Stadium, west of
Tehran, Friday.
The blues and Zob Ahan fought to a goalless tie in the first half, but it
was Esteqlal, which had the last laugh after the break, hitting three in an
18-minute period.
The spree started on 68 minutes when Zob keeper Abbas Qassemi parried an
Asghar Talebnassab cross and midfielder Mojtaba Jabbari drilled in the
rebound.
Striker Gholam-Reza Enayati celebrated the second, heading home a perfect
cross from Siavash Akbarpour in the 83rd minute.
Esteqlal completed the Zob rout four minutes from time as defender
Amir-Hossein Sadeqi found the net after a Hossein Kazemi cross.
The blues extended their leadership, having 28 points while the
morale-sapping defeat left Zob in the fourth spot with 21 points.
SABA BATTERY BEATS BARQ
Saba Battery defeated visitor Barq 1-0 in Shahid Derakhshan Stadium in
Sabashahr Friday.
Fullback Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, whose ferocious drive in the 24th minute
rocked the crossbar, scored the sole goal of the match on 35 minutes when he
rose to head home a curling cross from right-winger Mohammad Navazi.
Saba moved up two places, occupying the sixth slot and the Shirazi team Barq
is in the 15th spot with 14 points.
SURPRISE PACKAGE SAIPA STUNS SEPAHAN
Saipa extended its winning streak with an away 1-0 victory over Sepahan in
Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium, Isfahan, Friday.
Sepahan, which had a lackluster performance before some 3,000 home fans,
protested against the judgment of the referee Rahim
Rahimi-Moqaddam, who ruled out a penalty reward after Saipa's Jalal Akbari
brought down veteran striker Edmond Bezik in the 28th minute.
Ten minutes into the second half, Saipa celebrated the opener.
Majid Ayoubi's cross found Amir Vaziri, who steered the ball past live-wire
keeper Armenak Petrossian skillfully.
The home team, however, showed the spot-kick was not key to victory as Jalal
Akbari missed a penalty kick on 63 minutes.
Saipa regains its second spot on 27 points and Sepahan demoted to the
seventh place from 6th with 20 points.
SHAMOUSHAK EDGES PAST SOUTH ESTEQLAL
Shamoushak beat the home team Esteqlal of Ahvaz 3-2 in a pulsating match in
Takhti Stadium in southern city of Shoushtar Friday.
Amir Khalifeh-Asl headed home a Gholam-Reza Eidizadeh in the fifth minute to
put Esteqlal ahead.
It took the northerners just four minutes to cancel out Esteqlal's opener.
Abouzar Rahimi took optimal advantage of a defending blunder, beating
Esteqlal keeper in a man-to-man challenge.
Esteqlal conceded the second goal on 15 minutes when the referee Alireza
Faghani red-carded goalie Nader Ghobeyshavi for his foul on Ali Azari,
rewarding Shamoushak a penalty kick converted by Esfandiar Mohseni.
The situation was aggravated for the home side two minutes into stoppage
time as Saeid Kouzegar receiving a perfect pass from Azari behind the box
rattled the net with a cannonball.
Mehrzad Rezaei, however, signaled a glimmer of hope three minutes after the
halftime, making it 3-2 with a powerful drive. But it proved a consolation
goal as the 10-man Esteqlal failed to score the equalizer.
Shamoushak, in defiance of the win, sticks to the rock bottom on meager 13
points and Esteqlal's previous place, 12th, remains unchanged with 14
points.
ABU MOSLEM WRAPS UP VICTORY BEFORE BREAK
Abu Moslem celebrated two goals in the first half to beat the visiting
Shahid Qandi 2-1 in the empty Takhti Stadium, northeastern capital Mashhad,
Friday.
The home team needed 12 minutes to open the scoring following a blooper from
Qandi keeper Hadi Tabatabaei and a Younes Gerayeli pass for Hossein Badamaki,
who rifled home from close range.
Abu Moslem doubled the scoring due to a spectacular solo effort by Ali
Pourmand, who carried the ball 40 meters before leaving Gerayeli alone with
Tabatabaei to beat.
Promoted Qandi pulled one back in the 85th minute when Behshad Yavarzadeh
sent home a Brazilian signing Carlos Santos cross, but it was too late for
the visitor to level the match.
The win took Abu Moslem out of relegation zone, 15th spot, putting it in the
13th place on 14 points while the Yazd-based Qandi remains in the 14th place
with the same asset.
NEKOUNAM-LESS PAS PUNISHED FAJR AFTER HALFTIME
The visiting Pas found the finishing touch after the interval, handing Fajr-e
Sepassi a 2-0 defeat in Hafezieh Stadium in southern capital Shiraz Friday.
With national midfielder Javad Nekounam transferred to the UAE's Al Wahda,
the green-clad Pas took the lead on 53 minutes. Pas midfielder Pejman
Jamshidi sent a sizzling cross, which was followed by a goalkeeping blunder
from Hossein Ashna and a tap-in by striker Mohsen Bayatinia.
Bayatinia almost grabbed his double seven minutes later when his kick
following a melee was blocked by defender Babak Pour-Gholami in the
goalmouth.
Pas, however, made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute. Striker Issa Traore rifled
home a rebound to wrap up a badly needed win.
The victory helped Pas retake its third spot on 25 points while Fajr lost
his previous 10th place for the 11th with 15 points.
GHOLAMIN LATE WINNER HELPS MALAVAN PAST FOULAD
Mohammad Gholamin grabbed a late winner to inspire the Navy's side Malavan
into a 1-0 win over the visiting holder Foulad in Takhti Stadium, northern
port Bandar Anzali, Friday.
Fierce wind swept through the pitch, leaving the fans ruing a nice game.
Supersub Gholamin, however, extracted a spirit-raising victory in the 83rd
minute when he dispossessed Mojtaba Qorbani of the ball before poking home
with an unstoppable drive.
Striker Maytham Soleimani is to blame for the visitor's defeat as he failed
to find Malavan's empty net three minutes later.
The victory helped Malavan move up two places to the ninth spot with 18
points while Foulad replaced the seventh place with the eighth on 19 points.
LUCKY RAH AHAN HOLDS RECKLESS REDS
A stroke of luck and the rival's careless performance helped Rah Ahan hold
the red-shirted Persepolis to a scoreless draw in Azadi Stadium, west of
Tehran, Thursday.
The promoted Rah Ahan had just one scoring opportunity in the first half, in
the first minute, when Hadi Asghari fired a loose ball from close range wide
above the crossbar.
Persepolis, which could move up two steps to the third spot with a victory,
came close to the opener six minutes later. In-form skipper Karim Baqeri
unleashed a powerful 25-yard free-kick, which found the advancing defender
Shayth Rezaei in the box after hitting Rah Ahan defensive wall, but his kick
deflected by a Rah Ahan player dangerously passed the far post.
The reds missed a golden opportunity in a swift attack in the 16th minute.
Striker Javad Kazemian given wide space on the left flank sent a superb pass
for his unmarked teammate Ali Alizadeh, who unbelievably failed to find the
unguarded net, hitting the ball against the post.
Kazemian turned provider once again on 22 minutes, feeding out-of-sort
Mehrzad Ma'danchi behind the six-yard area, but his weak side-footed shot
was easily saved by keeper Shahram Mehraban.
Rah Ahan outspoken manager Firouz Karimi had Mehraban to thank for
spectacularly palming away a ferocious left drive from Kazemian in the 30th
minute.
Persepolis did not have scoring chances after the interval as Rah Ahan was
transformed and played some offensive football.
The reds, however, had a short party five minutes from normal time when
substitute Sohrab Entezari fired home, but his winner was ruled out by the
referee Iraj Nazari for an Alizadeh handball.
The draw left Persepolis in the fifth place with 21 points and Rah Ahan
moved down one step, standing 10th on 18 points.
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