Iranian Hazfi Cup:
Tractor crashes out; Carteron off to winning start on Sepahan bench
Tractor was stunned by Golgohar Sirjan in the round of 32 in the Iranian Hazfi Cup – the Memorial of Khorramshahr Liberation – falling to a 2-1 defeat against Mahdi Tartar’s men in Tabriz.
Albanian striker Sokol Cikalleshi gave Dragan Skocic’s side an 18th-minute lead from the spot, only to see his strike canceled out by Mahdi Tikdari, whose deflected effort from the edge of the box went past Hossein Pourhamidi with four minutes from halftime.
Pourhamidi, who filled in for Iranian international keeper Alireza Beiranvand, then made a mess of Pouria Latifipour’s long-range low drive in the 64th minute as the visitors took a surprise lead and held out for a place in the last 16.
Elsewhere, French head coach Patrice Carteron, who replaced Portuguese Jose Morais last week, celebrated his debut on Sepahan bench with a 2-0 away win against second-tier club Pars Jonoubi Jam.
Kaveh Rezaei put the Persian Gulf Pro League leader in front 12 minutes into the game, before Javad Aqaeipour came off the bench to seal the victory in the third minute of added time.
Kheybar Khorramabad progressed with a 1-0 win at Fard Alborz, courtesy of Mehrdad Qanbari’s strike in the 43rd minute, while Mes Rafsanjan defeated Shenavarsazi Qeshm by the same scoreline, with Mahdi Sharifi finding the net in the 77th minute.