Sepahan held by Mes

AFC - AFC Champions League Group A strugglers Sepahan were held 1-1 by Mes in the 28th round of the Iran Pro League here on Friday.

After a barren first half, Seyed Salehi gave the AFC Champions League 2007 runners-up the lead in the 76th minute only to see Khodabandelu restore parity for Mes two minutes later.

Despite the draw, Sepahan, who are on 50 points, maintained their four-point lead atop the standings as second-placed Saba Battery were held 2-2 by Shirin Faraz.

The Jorvan Vieira-coached outfit, who defeated Saudi giants and two-time AFC Champions League winners 2-1 in their last Group A outing, will travel to Jeddah for the return fixture on April 23.

Sepahan are languishing at the bottom of their group with three points, three less than Uzbekistan’s Kuruvchi and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad.