Persian Gulf Pro League:
Esteghlal edges Foolad to go back on top; Nassaji clear of bottom
Esteghlal was back on top of the Persian Gulf Pro League table thanks to a 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Foolad Khuzestan in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.
In a game that chances were few and far between, Iman Salimi’s smashing set-piece header right before the hour mark was the difference between the two sides but it was still enough for the Blues to restore the one-point lead over their archrival Persepolis – two days after the capital Reds had walked away with a 2-0 win at Havadar.
The result means Esteghlal head coach Javad Nekounam, whose defensive and unadventurous brand of football has been criticized by sections of the club faithful throughout the season, is now three victories away from the Iranian top-flight trophy in his first season on the Blues bench.
“Our tempo was low in the first half but we created opportunities after the break and could have scored more goals if we had been more clinical in front of the goal. We barley gave away chances and were well-organized in the back. I believe it was a decent result, given the number of absentees we had for the game,” said the Blues boss, whose team remains unbeaten in the league since the away loss to Sepahan in late August.
in the Iranian league’s tightest title race in years, Esteghlal will have to visit Nassaji Mazandaran and Paykan either side of a home fixture against Golgohar Sirjan, with Persepolis hosting Esteghlal Khuzestan and Mes Rafsanjan and playing away to Shams Azar.
Elsewhere on Monday, Nassaji took a giant step towards survival by claiming a massive 4-1 win at Esteghlal Khuzestan in the clash of relegation strugglers.
Vahid Mohammadzadeh headed Nassaji in front with two minutes into the game before Mohammadreza Azadi doubled the visitors’ lead midway through the first half.
Things went from bad to worse for the home side when Ousmane Ndong was shown a straight red for denying the goal-bound Azadi in the box and the Nassaji striker bagged his second from the spot late in the first half.
Javad Aqaeipour netted his seventh goal of the season to give the host a lifeline 17 minutes from normal time but veteran Mohammad Abbaszadeh’s 84th-minute strike secured a decisive three points for the northern Iranian club.
A third victory in five matches saw Saket Elhami’s side go three points clear of the relegation zone, while Esteghlal Khuzestan is just outside the bottom two on goal difference.
Sitting rock bottom, San’at Naft Abadan is on course for a place in the second-tier league next season, while the battle for safety between city rivals Esteghlal Khuzestan and Foolad – which have three titles between them since the Iranian Pro League was launched two decades ago – is set to go down the wire.
Foolad will be looking to make the most of the back-to-back home games against Zob Ahan and Paykan before the final-day trip to Nassaji.
The Ahvaz Blues, meanwhile, will play away to Mes Rafsanjan following next Tuesday’s visit to the capital and will hope to have a chance of survival when they welcome Havadar for the final round of fixtures on May 31.
The other game of the day saw Zob Ahan bounce back from successive defeats against Nassaji and Esteghlal to edge out Paykan 1-0 at home, courtesy of Fariborz Gerami’s sensational halfway line strike.