Iranian Super Cup:
Tractor leaves it late against Esteghlal to win curtain raiser
Persian Gulf Pro League champion Tractor came from behind to beat Esteghlal 2-1 in stoppage time and lift a maiden Iranian Super Cup trophy at Isfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium on Monday.
Tomislav Štrkalj came off the bench midway through the second half to net the winner in the first minute of added time. The Croatian striker burst past Esteghlal center-back Armin Sohrabian on Mahdi Hashemnejad’s delicate through ball before finding the bottom corner with a composed finish.
Rouzbeh Cheshmi put the Hazfi Cup champion, which has Portuguese head coach Ricardo Sa Pinto back on the bench for the new season, ahead 12 minutes into the game, heading home Ramin Rezaeian’s set piece past young Tractor goalkeeper Adib Zarei.
There was little to separate the two sides for the remainder of the first half, before Tractor desperately pushed for an equalizer after the break.
Serbian center-back Aleksandar Sedlar and Croatian midfielder Igor Postonjski came close to drawing Tractor level, only to be denied by the Blues’ new Spanish keeper Antonio Adán.
Tractor’s domination eventually paid off with four minutes remaining, as Esteghlal fullback Saman Fallah was deemed by a VAR review to have handled the ball in the box.
Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, the leading marksman in the Iranian top flight last season, sent Adán the wrong way from the spot, before Štrkalj’s strike turned the contest on its head within five minutes.
The two sides will meet again in Tabriz next Tuesday in the opening round of fixtures in the Persian Gulf Pro Leage season.
Tractor head coach Dragan Skocic will hope Monday’s triumph serves as a morale booster ahead of a tough campaign – including the AFC Champions League Elite – despite parting ways with two integral players from last season’s title-winning squad in center-back Aref Aqasi and midfielder Ricardo Alves, while international keeper Alireza Beiranvand will be sidelined for four months due to suspension.
Sa Pinto, meanwhile, will be desperate to see new signings make an instant impact as the Blues will be looking to improve on the ninth-place finish last term.