Persian Gulf Pro League:
Hosseinzadeh at the double as Tractor sinks Sepahan
Iran international striker Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh scored twice, including a 96th-minute winner, to help Tractor beat Sepahan 2-1 at the Persian Gulf Pro League in Isfahan on Sunday.
The victory saw the defending champion move atop the Iranian top-flight table – equal on seven points with Golgohar Sirjan and Khaybar Khorramabad after four rounds of matches – while Moharram Naividkia’s Sepahan – yet to win a game in the new campaign – remained third from bottom with two points.
Hosseinzadeh, the leading marksman in the Iranian league last season, put the visitors in front from the spot just before halftime at the Naqsh-e Jahan Stadium, only to see his goal canceled out on the hour mark by Mohammad-Mahdi Lotfi’s side-footed strike from inside the box.
Just when the two sides looked set for a stalemate following a quiet closing stages, Hosseinzadeh head home the winner on the rebound after substitute Odildzhon Khamrobekov’s effort from outside the box was kept out by former Tractor goalkeeper Mohammadreza Akhbari.
Elsewhere, Esteghlal came from behind twice to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw against Paykan, which played with 10 men for the best part of game in Tehran.
Iran U23 striker Kasra Taheri gave Paykan a shock lead midway through the first half at the Shahr-e Qods Stadium, before his teammate Milad Baqeri received his marching orders for a harsh challenge on Moroccan midfielder Munir El Haddadi.
Albanian winger Jasir Asani drew the Blues level with a sublime curling effort in the seventh minute of added time in the first half, but the home side was stunned again three minutes after the break.
Taheri intercepted a back pass by Esteghlal center-back Aref Aqasi and then went past goalkeeper Habib Farabbasi before rolling the ball into an empty net for his fourth goal of the season.
Asani bagged a second equalizer with a VAR-awarded spot-kick in the 80th minute as it finished 2-2, leaving Esteghlal eighth in the table with five points, with Paykan in fourth on six points.