Persian Gulf Pro League roundup:
New signings spearhead Sepahan to statement win; Nekounam off to flier with Blues
The first round of matches in the new Persian Gulf Pro League season saw summer signings lead Sepahan to a massive 3-1 victory over Tractor at the Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium.
Persepolis began its title defense with a 1-0 win against Iralco in Tehran, while Javad Nekounam enjoyed a flying start to life on the Blues’ bench as Esteghlal walked away with a 3-0 triumph over San’at Naft Abadan in southern Iran.
Golgohar Sirjan was also a big winner on the opening day, defeating Foolad Khuzestan by three goals at home.
Sepahan statement
Many believed Sepahan was unlucky to lift the trophy despite arguably delivering the best performances in the Iranian top flight throughout last season.
Thursday’s win in the star-studded contest proved Jose Morais’s men mean business again as the five-time champion will be looking to end a nine-year title drought.
Tensions were high in the battle of the two busy sides of the transfer window as 11 players were shown a yellow card with the host’s Nilson Júnior and Safa Hadi of Tractor receiving their marching orders for a second bookable offence.
Shahriyar Moghanlou, the league’s leading marksman last season, picked up where he had left off by bagging Sepahan’s first goal of the new campaign in the 11th minute.
Morteza Asadi perhaps played a pivotal role in Sepahan’s failure in the title race last season when his spot kick sealed a 1-0 win for Tractor in the fixture in the closing stages of the campaign.
Asadi’s summer recruitment, however, paid off early on for Sepahan as he doubled the lead for the home side with 25 minutes into the game, tapping in from close range on a Reza Shekari’s low cross.
A first appearance on his return to Tractor turned into an absolute nightmare for goalkeeper Hossein Pourhamidi when his ill-fated attempt to clear the ball let Shekari, who also joined Sepahan in the summer, find his name on the score sheet with a header from the edge box and all but secure the maximum points for the host on the hour mark.
Substitute Saeed Karim-Azar pulled one back in the 89th minute but it proved too little too late for the for the visiting side, which will be chasing a first win of the campaign against Persepolis at home on Wednesday, with Sepahan playing Zob Ahan in the Isfahan derby.
Chances were few and far between in an empty Azadi Stadium on Wednesday as a first-half goal by Ali Nemati was enough to get Persepolis to a winning start to their quest for a seventh league crown in eight years.
A perfect through ball by Soroush Rafiei found Nemati behind the Iralco backline before the Reds fullback lobbed keeper Ahmad Gohari, who joined Iralco on loan from Persepolis, as the champion is yet to drop points in the league since the home defeat against Sepahan in March.
Persepolis archrival Esteghlal could not have asked for a better beginning to the new era under Nekounam after a preseason which was dominated by financial shortcomings and the departure of two prolific players in Mehdi Qayedi and Mohammad Mohebbi.
A 1-1 home draw against San’at Naft with two games to spare ended Esteghlal’s pursuit of the league title in May but it was a different story in Abadan on Thursday.
Arash Rezavand’s left-footed effort from inside the box led the Blues to a first-half lead before Amir-Arsalan Motahari’s thumping header two minutes after the break propelled Nekounam’s side to a 2-0 advantage.
Saleh Hardani capped off a brilliant run through San’at Naft’s defense when he fired the ball into the bottom corner for Esteghlal’s third of the afternoon in the 58th minute.
Esteghlal will play Malavan at the Azadi Stadium on Thursday, with San’at Naft visiting Foolad Arena to take on Foolad a day earlier.
Elsewhere, Greek manager Marinos Ouzounidis enjoyed a winning debut in the Iranian league as first half goals by Ahmadreza Zenderouh, from the spot, and Aliasghar A’ashouri were followed by Alireza Alizadeh’s header in the second period as Golgohar came out on top against Alireza Mansourian’s Foolad.
Newly-promoted clubs Esteghlal Khuzestan and Shams Azar shared the points in a 1-1 draw in Ahvaz.
Pouria Sarabadani netted a maiden top-flight goal for Shams Azar on the hour mark but Behrouz Barani drew the home side level in the 90th minute.
It was pretty much the same scenario when Nassaji Mazandaran hosted Paykan in Qaemshahr as a late Vahid Mohammadzadeh’s header canceled out Amir Taher’s opener for the visiting side.
Zob Ahan head coach Mohammad Rabiei, who was linked with the Esteghlal job before leaving Mes Rafsanjan, also reveled in a victorious debut with Zob Ahan after three second-half goals inside six minutes saw the Isfahan-based win 2-1 at Malavan.
Havadar and Mes Rafsanjan played to a goalless stalemate in Tehran.