Persian Gulf Pro League:
Iralco, Esteghlal share the spoils; Rahmati steps down after Havadar loss
Iralco came from behind to salvage a point at home against Esteghlal in a 1-1 draw in the Persian Gulf Pro League.
Seyyed Mahdi Rahmati, meanwhile, stepped down from his role as Havadar head coach after his team fell to a 1-0 home defeat against Nassaji Mazandaran.
Desperate to get back on the winning ways following last Monday’s goalless game against Golgohar, Esteghlal went in front in Arak thanks to a VAR-given spot kick deep into first-half added time.
Iralco defender Aref Haji-Eidi was deemed to have elbowed Esteghlal midfielder Zobeir Niknafs when heading the ball clear in the box, and Uzbek talisman Jaloliddin Masharipov held his nerve to dink the ball past goalkeeper Mohammad Khalifeh.
Amin Kazemian bagged a well-deserved equalizer for the home side with a 63rd-minute low drive from inside the box to join Tractor trio Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Mahdi Hashemnejad, and Tomislav Strkalj on top of the league’s leading marksmen chart with five strikes.
There was little to separate the two sides afterwards as the frustrating draw left Esteghlal in the eighth place of the table with 16 points before Saturday’s fixtures, with Iralco in ninth on 15 points.
Next for Esteghlal is a visit to Chadormalou on Thursday before a highly-anticipated encounter against Sepahan at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on January 2.
Iralco will play away to Malavan on Friday, followed by a home game against struggling Shams Azar.
In Tehran, a seventh league defeat of the season saw Rahmati part ways with Havadar, which has only managed one victory in 13 outings to sit bottom of the table with eight points.
Former Persepolis striker Hamed Pakdel’s tame effort from the edge of the box found the bottom corner with 12 minutes left on the clock as Nassaji celebrated a second win of the campaign, moving up to 12th in the 16-team table with 13 points.
Friday’s games came after Foolad Khuzestan had defeated Chadormalou 2-1 in Ahvaz on the preceding night.
Sasan Ansari’s second-minute strike for Foolad was canceled out by Seyyed Ali Yahyazadeh in the 38th minute, but Malian center-back Moussa Coulibaly scored from the spot with four minutes remaining to secure maximum points for the home side, which went down to 10 men in the 90th minute after a second booking for substitute Abolfazl Attar.
Meanwhile, Mohammad-Taha Tabatabaei’s composed finish in the 79th minute led Khaybar to a 1-0 win over Esteghlal Khuzestan in Khorramabad.