Esteghlal is out with a vengeance

By: Majeed Panahi

PLDC - Esteghlal Tehran defeated Foolad Mobarekeh Sepahan with a comprehensive 3-0 score line to open a four point’s gap on their nearest and traditional rivals; Perspolis after the latter failed to register a win against Zob Ahan.
The match in Azadi stadium in front of a disappointing 7000 estimated fans was a breath of fresh air for the Esteghlal faithful. The team played an organized football using the spaces and distributing the ball well across the pitch. Both of the flanks were quite busy today as Akbarpour and Navazi created numerous threatening balls for crosses or passes into the penalty box.
The absence of notorious Nikbakht was hardly felt as Navazi single handedly awarded Esteghlal this precious win. His first contribution was the lovely ball for Fatemi who managed to out-run the slow Sepahan defense while Petrossian came out to intercept him. Fatemi was obstructed by Petrossian and the referee had no hesitation to call a penalty. Although there was a mild protest from Sepahan, the referee’s decision was quite right. Navazi took the penalty himself, and made no mistake. 1-0 for Esteghlal.
The blues dominated most of the match while Sepahan was a shy team lacking in confidence. There were a few offensive moves by Sepahan spearheaded by the lively Afshin Hajipour but to no avail, By the start of the second half. disaster struck at Sepahan’s defense. Navazi took the ball on the right and send a delicate chip towards the penalty box, but the unfortunate Sepahan defender deflected the ball powerfully into his own net. What little confidence Sepahan had was beginning to crumble by now.
Esteghlal reduced their pace slightly after the goal giving Sepahan the initiative to attack. Hajipour, tremendous performance nearly translated into a goal as his diagonal low pass powerful shot hit the bar. Karimi had a couple of good attempts but to no avail. Edmond Bizik had little chance and his contribution was poor in this match.
At late stages, Esteghlal was more concerned about keeping the result; however a good maneuver by Momenzadeh on the right created the third and killer goal. Momenzadeh controlled the ball well, spotted Deenmohamadi just inside the box unmarked, and sent him a nice cross for the little guy to head it right in the upper corner for goal number three. The match ended in a comprehensive 3-0 victory for the leaders.

Perspolis and Zob Ahan battled well in Esfahan. The Early goal from Entezari in the first half was perhaps a sign of revival for Perspolis team that has been under immense pressure due to their poor recent form. Zob Ahan on the other hand had aspiration of their own and after they equalized, they could had won the match if it was not for the terrible miss by Ramazni who was all on his own to beat the keeper. His shot was directed right at the keeper who parried it and for Zob Ahan to curse their luck.

In general however, the match was well balanced and a draw was fair to both teams.
The worst result of the day and wasted chances must go to Pas Tehran who missed yet another opportunity to threaten the big two. After leading the match against Abo Moslem, from a goal by Khodadad Azizi they could not keep their lead for long as they conceded the equalizer. However,  the biggest blunder must be given to Rasoul Khatibi, who missed his 3^rd penalty of the season at a crucial stage and time for his club. A mistake by the coach who is insisting on giving Khatibi the penalties and fro Khatibi himself, could very well mean the end of the Championships hope of Pas.
While the IPL is nearing its climax. The standard has suddenly improved and the teams have shown some remarkable resilience under pressure of the fixtures and poor pitches. This all augurs well for an exciting end of the season. While Esteghlal has more difficult fixtures than the others, they still can claim to be the most tactically accomplished team in IPL and perhaps with this gap in points, they could very well be on the road to keep the title.