Persian Gulf Pro League roundup:
Esteghlal, Persepolis flex muscles ahead of Tehran Derby
It now appears to be a two-horse race for the Persian Gulf Pro League crown for the rest of the way after Esteghlal and Persepolis ran away winners over southern Iranian clubs on Friday, while a fifth successive top-flight defeat saw Sepahan drop to fifth in the table.
In Ahvaz, Argentine striker Gustavo Blanco bagged only his second goal since joining Esteghlal in the summer, heading home a Jaloliddin Masharipov’s cross late in the first half, before the Tehran Blues were forced to hold on in the closing stages to beat Esteghlal Khuzestan 1-0 and restore a three-point lead over archrival Persepolis, which came out on top against Foolad Khuzestan at the capital’s Azadi Stadium earlier in the day.
Chasing a fourth league victory on the bounce under Brazilian head coach Osmar Vieira, Persepolis came from behind twice to beat the 10-man Foolad 4-2.
Moussa Coulibaly gave the visiting side a 11th-minute lead after Iranian international keeper Alireza Beiranvand made a mess of saving Malian defender’s tame effort from an acute angle.
Winter signing Oston Urunov netted his first goal for Persepolis with a composed finish in the 35th minute, but Qatari fullback Abdelkarim Hassan – also a January addition – had his maiden league start marred by an awkward own goal four minutes before the break.
Issa Alekasir drew Persepolis level again with 10 minutes into the second period, before Mojtaba Najjarian received his marching orders for keeping out a Danial Esmaeilifar’s effort with his arm.
Hossein Kan’anizadegan scored form the spot to put the host in front for the first time in the match in the 68th minute.
Mahdi Torabi rounded off the Reds’ brilliant performance in the second half with a superb strike, curling in a left-footed effort from the corner of the box 15 minutes from normal time.
Viera hopes his men will keep up the momentum heading into Wednesday’s crunch derby, though he will have to do with instrumental center-back Kan’anizadegan, who received a fourth booking of the season.
Sepahan, meanwhile, suffered further blow to its title hunt following yet another league loss – at home to Paykan, which stepped onto the pitch in Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium without a win in 12 top-flight outings.
Having beaten Shams Azar by three goals in the Hazfi Cup four days earlier, Sepahan looked to be back on track when Paykan goalkeeper Mohammad Nasseri’s effort ricocheted off Farshad Ahmadzadeh’s leg and found the back of the net with four minutes into the contest.
Mohammad-Hossein Fallah netted twice to give Paykan a 2-1 lead at the break and things went from bad to worse for the home side five minutes after the restart when Bryan Dabo was dismissed by the referee for a foul on goal-bound Hamed Pakdel – a 12th red card for Sepahan in 25 games across all competitions this season.
Reza Asadi still managed to equalize for Sepahan four minutes later – joining teammate Shahriar Moghanlou on top of the league’s leading marksmen chart with nine strikes – but former Sepahan forward Ali Qorbani secured the maximum points for the visitors with 14 minutes left on the clock.
Sepahan is now 11 points adrift of the top with two games in hand – away to Tractor and at home against Zob Ahan – but Portuguese manager Jose Morais will need a quick fix to his side’s struggles if they are to keep title aspirations alive.
Elsewhere, Ricardo Alves’s superb strike from 20 yards out gave Tractor the lead at Mes Rafsanjan, before Mohammad Akbari came off the bench to draw Moharram Navidkia’s rejuvenated side level right at the death as it finished 1-1.
The point was still enough for Tractor to leapfrog Malavan into third spot on goal difference – seven points behind Persepolis with a game in hand.
Malavan continued its fairytale campaign on the preceding night, defeating Golgohar Sirjan 1-0 at home, courtesy of a Mohammadreza Soleimani’s spot-kick in the second half.
A Babak Moradi’s stoppage-time penalty saw Zob Ahan surrender a two-goal lead at Havadar after going down to 10 men late in the game as the two sides shared the spoils in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
Relegation strugglers San’at Naft and Nassaji Mazandaran played to 1-1 stalemate in Abadan, while Shamas Azar bounced back from the cup setback with a 2-1 home win against Iralco, thanks to Pouria Sarabadani’s penalty and Faraz Emam-Ali’s strike against Mahdi Limouchi’s late consolation for the visiting side.