Persian Gulf Pro League review:
Limouchi hits hat-trick, Sepahan routs Havadar to go top
Mahdi Limouchi scored a sensational hat-trick to inspire Sepahan to a 5-0 home demolishing of Havadar in the Persian Gulf Pro League on Friday.
Mohammad-Mahdi Mohebbi and Reza Asadi were also in the scoresheet, the latter finding the net from the spot, as Sepahan overtook Tractor on top the league table with 31 points, while Havadar, which had Omidreza Ravankhah as the new head coach on the bench, remained rock-bottom with eight points.
Stunned by a 1-0 home loss to Shams Azar last time out, Tractor left the pitch without a win for a second running after a 1-1 away draw against Nassaji Mazandaran.
Nassaji defender Amirmohammad Houshmand headed home on a corner kick with 19 minutes into the first half, before Mahdi Torabi bagged an equalizer 17 minutes from normal time.
A heated quarrel between Tractor’s Mahdi Hashemnejad and Nassaji center-back Vahid Mohammadzadeh led to chaotic scenes in the stoppage time at the Vatani Stadium, with the former and his head coach Dragan Skocic receiving their marching orders.
The result saw Tractor drop to second in the table with 29 points, with Nassaji sitting 12th on 14 points.
Caretaker contribution
Interim coach Karim Bagheri got off to a winning start on Persepolis bench as the Tehran Reds came from behind for a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Khaybar at home.
The visitors were rewarded for their brave start at the Shahr-e Qods Stadium when they took a shock lead through Aref Rostami’s point-blank header midway through the first half, piling further pressure on the defending champion, which had stepped onto the pitch on the back of four defeats in six league outings.
Under-fire strikers Ali Alipour and Isa Alekasir, however, came to the Reds’ rescue in the second half to avoid a third consecutive home defeat for Persepolis.
Having missed a couple of clear-cut chances earlier in the game, Alipour held his nerve when he was sent through on goal by Soroush Rafiei’s long ball in the 53rd minute to draw the home side level.
Desperate for his first goal of the campaign, Alekasir ended his 10-game drought with four minutes left on the clock, tapping into the roof of the net on Oston Urunov’s low cross.
Alipour thought he had his second of the night in added time, only to see his strike ruled out by a VAR review for an Abolfazl Babaei’s foul in the buildup to the goal.
Maximum points saw Persepolis overtake Foolad Khuzestan, which had shared the spoils with Esteghlal Khuzestan in a goalless Ahvaz Derby on the preceding night, and move up to third with 26 points.
Khaybar, meanwhile, is third from bottom in the 16-team standings, standing just above the relegation zone thanks to a better goal difference on Shams Azar.
Elsewhere, Omid Latifi and Mohsen Azarbad scored second-half goals to lead Zob Ahan to 2-1 away win against Mes Rafsanjan.
Mahdi Sharifi caught the deficit to one in the 91st minute, but it proved too little too late for Masoud Shojaei’s men, who are 13th in the table – equal on 13 points with Khaybar.
In Qazvin, an Ali Qorbani’s last-gasp header gave Golgohar a 1-0 win against Shams Azar, while Malavan played to a 1-1 home draw against Iralco at home.
Reza Ghandipour found the net for the home side in the 21st minute, before Amin Kazemian restored parity with a stunning strike 12 minutes later to join Limouchi on top of the league’s leading marksmen chart with six goals.
On Thursday, Esteghlal played to a goalless stalemate on the road against Chadormalou to remain 10th in the table with 17 points – a third league draw in a row for the Tehran Blues ahead of the highly-anticipated visit of Sepahan.