|
IRNA - Striker Bahman Tahmasbi scored the
opener and was awarded a penalty kick to help visitor Fajr-e Sepassi hold
Persepolis to a 2-2 draw here Tuesday.
A goal-hungry striker Mehrdad Owladi rose to head home a curling cross from
Hossein Badamaki 13 minutes after the kickoff of the 10th week of the sixth
Iran Pro League in the 100,000-seater Azadi Stadium.
The Reds were transported with joy three minutes later when Owladi raced to
a through-ball from left winger Alireza Nikbakht-Vahedi and doubled the
scoring with an angled drive ricocheting off the far post.
Owladi failed to celebrate his hat-trick on 19 minutes, hitting the ball
against Fajr keeper Sosha Makani's chest.
Badamaki, who had an under-par performance, squandered a scoring chance with
a poorly-struck chip in the 28th minute.
Fajr made a rare attack five minutes before halftime and home side's
advancing defender Sheys Rezaei should have made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute.
The Shirazi side Fajr, which had nothing to lose, played a smoother football
after the break.
Substitute Mojtaba Zare' would minimize the gap if he either passed the ball
to the unmarked Tahmasbi or carefully kicked it on 57 minutes.
Tahmasbi, who had cleared three markers in the third minute of the match and
had been just denied by Persepolis keeper Farshid Karimi, made a spectacular
solo effort in the 58th minute, duping Persepolis defender Abolfazl
Hajizadeh twice before side-footing in.
It was just a stroke of luck that Fajr did not concede the third in the 60th
minute as the keeper Makani's tackled ball was blocked by midfielder Pejman
Nouri and dangerously passed the unguarded woodwork.
Hajizadeh was to blame for Fajr's equalizer on 65 minutes when he awarded
the visitor a spot-kick for body-checking Tahmasbi.
Captain Ehtesham Sassani converted after the ball shaved Karimi's
fingertips.
BLUES BEAT BARQ
The blue-clad Esteqlal of Tehran came from one-goal deficit to snatch an
away 2-1 win over Barq in the southern capital Shiraz.
Under Bijan Zolfaqarnassab, Barq had a dream start in the packed Hafezieh
Stadium, taking the lead after six minutes when striker Mohammad Matouri
beat Esteqlal keeper Vahid Taleblou with a low drive.
The home side's lead was, however, short-lived as Esteqlal forward Asghar
Talebnassab capitalized on a defending blunder from Mojtaba Ensafi,
dribbling past the Croat goalie Miroslav Hill to find empty net from close
range.
Barq's error-prone defense line paid the price eight minutes from the
interval in a carbon-copy attack as striker Siavash Akbarpour beat the
hapless keeper to celebrate the winner with a pat-in.
Esteqlal should have widened the gap in the 61st minute, but striker Ali
Alizadeh unmarked in the 5.5-yard box failed to score.
The visitor was reduced to 10 men three minutes from normal time as defender
Pirouz Qorbani received his marching orders from the referee Mohsen
Qahremani for tripping the Barq player in a swift counterattack.
The match could turn sour on 89 minutes. Ensafi targeted the Esteqlal
player's chest with the studs like a karateka and was red-carded.
Esteqlal, however, missed the second player, Akbarpour, who rushed to the
scene and wildly pushed Ensafi.
In other matches, Esteqlal of Ahvaz put a brake on pacesetter SAIPA's
winning streak with a 2-0 victory, Malavan was beaten by Saba Battery 3-2,
Abu Moslem and Mes struggled to a 1-1 tie, Paykan saw off Zob Ahan 2-1, and
Sepahan disposed of Pas 1-0.
Despite the loss, SAIPA is still the table-topper on 21 points and goal
difference when compared to the asset of Tehran's Esteqlal.
|
