Iranian Knockout Cup:
Moghanlou at the double as Sepahan ends title drought
Shahriar Moghanlou scored twice as Sepahan defeated Mes Rafsanjan 2-0 in the Iranian Hazfi (knockout) Cup final on Thursday.
The leading marksman in the newly-finished Persian Gulf Pro League season with 16 strikes, Moghanlou found the net with eight minutes into the game at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, intercepting a back pass by Mes fullback Meysam Teymouri before beating wrongfooted keeper Hamed Lak from close range.
Referee Bijan Heidari blow in whistle for a spot kick after a VAR review showed Mes forward Mohammad-Mahdi Mohebbi handling the ball in his own box as Moghanlou sent his former Persepolis teammate the wrong way to double Sepahan’s lead midway through the first half.
A fifth Hazfi Cup crown handed Sepahan a playoff spot in the inaugural AFC Champions League Elite in August while it ended a nine-year trophy for the Isfahan-based club, which had last lifted the Iranian top-flight trophy in the 2014/15 season.
It also came as a relief at the end of a season packed with twists and turns for Jose Morais’s men, who at one stage looked to be the clear favorites to win the Iranian league but eventually had to settle for a third-spot finish behind Tehran archrivals Persepolis and Esteghlal.
Sepahan chairman Mahdi Azerbaijani brought an end to weeks of speculation over the future of the club’s bench, saying the Portuguese manager “has already given us his wish list of new players and planned for next season.”
Meanwhile, fullback Ramin Rezaeian said the game marked his last appearance in a Sepahan shirt after two seasons with the club, during which he bagged 21 goals, providing his teammates with 20 assists, in 70 outings.