Persian Gulf Pro League:
Dursun on target to lead Persepolis to hard-fought win at Chadormalou
Turkish striker Serdar Dursun bagged his second goal in four top-flight games to help Persepolis come away with a massive 1-0 win at Chadormalou in the Persian Gulf Pro League on Friday.
Flying high after last week’s derby triumph over Esteghlal, the Tehran Reds started right on the front foot at the Shahid Nasiri Stadium and took the lead 15 minutes into the game, with Dursun tapping in Mohammad Khodabandelou’s low cross on the near sport.
The home side was awarded a spot kick right before the half-hour mark when Ecuadorian fullback Segundo Portocarrero was brought down in the box by Ayoub El Amloud, but the referee’s decision was overturned by the VAR.
Beaten only once in 10 home games prior to Friday’s fixture, Chadormalou pushed forward for an equalizer in the second half, but it was the visiting side which created the better of the chances, with the host’s Brazilian goalkeeper Edson Mardden producing fine saves to deny Ali Alipour, Omid Aalishah, and Amloud.
The hard-fought win saw Persepolis – chasing an eighth league crown in nine seasons – close the gap on Tractor and Sepahan to a single point on top of the table, with Chadormalou dropping to ninth on 24 points.
While Tractor had its trip to Foolad Khuzestan postponed due to engagement in the AFC Champions League Two quarterfinals, Sepahan was held to a 1-1 draw at home by Esteghlal Khuzestan on Thursday.
Sepahan skipper Mohammad Karimi broke the deadlock from the spot in the 52nd minute, only to see French striker Thievy Bifouma draw the visitors level 13 minutes later.
Es. Khuzestan had to finish the game with 10 men after midfielder Mohammad Abshak was shown his marching order for a second booking in the 90th minute.
The stalemate was still enough to send Sepahan level on 45 points with league leader Tractor, while Esteghlal Khuzestan is 11th with 24 points.
The bad news for Sepahan was a knee injury for Mahdi Limouchi six minutes into the game, which saw the league’s joint leading marksman substituted and could keep him out of action for several weeks, if not the rest of the campaign.
Elsewhere on Thursday, Mahdi Tikdari scored in the 14th minute and Amirmohammad Razzaqinia found the net deep into stoppage time as Golgohar Sirjan defeated Khaybar FC 2-0 at home to remain fifth in the table with 35 points.
In the battle of two relegation-threatened clubs, Shams Azar came out on top against Mes Rafsanjan 3-1 in Qazvin.
Ehsan Mahrouqi scored twice either side of a Jalaloddin Alimohammadi’s equalizer before a Houman Rabizadeh’s 89th-minute strike sealed all points for Shams Azar.
A first win in seven games lifted Shams Azar to 14th in table with 21 points – two clear of Nassaji Mazandaran, which dropped into the relegation zone after a 1-0 loss at Malavan.
A Qaem Eslamikhah’s 93rd-minute spot kick secured a fourth win in a row for the home side ahead of next week’s visit to the Tehran for an encounter with Persepolis at the Azadi Stadium.
In Arak, Amin Kazemian and Rahman Jafari scored in each half to steer Iralco to a 2-0 victory over Zob Ahan at home.