Persian Gulf Pro League:
Hajsafi on target, gets Sepahan off the mark
Former Iran skipper Ehsan Hajsafi scored a first-half free-kick as Sepahan walked away with a much-needed 1-0 victory over Khaybar in Khorramabad at the Persian Gulf Pro League on Friday.
This result ended a four-game winless start to the new domestic league season for the Iranian top-flight heavyweight, easing pressure on head coach Moharram Navidkia. His team was also undone by Al Duhail in the AFC Champions League Elite qualification playoffs in August and was beaten by Jordan’s Al Hussein in their Asian second-tier clubs’ competition opener less than two weeks ago.
A second defeat of the season saw Khaybar drop to fourth in the table with seven points – trailing Persepolis on goal difference – while Sepahan moved up to 12th with five points.
Sepahan, which will be hosting India’s Mohun Bagan in Asia on Tuesday, will be chasing a second league win in a row when taking on Zob Ahan at home in the Isfahan derby next Saturday, with Khaybar playing away to Malavan on Thursday.
Elsewhere on Friday, Esteghlal’s poor start to the season continued with a frustrating 1-1 draw at Shams Azar in Qazvin.
Mehran Ahmadi put the visiting Blues in front with a superb finish from outside the box nine minutes after the break, only to see strike canceled out by Shams Azar center-back Saeb Mohebbi 18 minutes later.
The Tehran Blues have managed a single victory in seven games across all competitions under Portuguese head coach Ricardo Sa Pinto – an opening-day 1-0 win against defending champion Tractor in Tabriz.
Eighth in the table with six points, Esteghlal will host Chadormalou in Tehran next Sunday.
A fifth successive stalemate saw Shams Azar, which has been deducted three points by the Iranian Football Federation, sit second form bottom with two points. Shams Azar will visit Iralco on Friday.
In Ahvaz, Amirhossein Jalalivand and Hojjat Ahmadi scored in each half to lead Esteghlal Khuzestan to a 2-0 win against visiting Mes Rafsanjan.
The impressive triumph moved the home side into 11th place with five points, ahead of Thursday’s visit to newly-promoted Fajr Sepasi in Shiraz.
Rasoul Khatibi’s Mes – rock bottom in the standings on two points – will play at home against Paykan on Friday.
Golgohar goalkeeper Farzin Garousian and his opposite number at Foolad Khuzestan Hamed Lak were in top form, as the two sides played out a goalless stalemate in Sirjan.
The result was still enough to lift the home side into the second spot with eight points, while Yahya Golmohammadi’s Foolad was left struggling in 13th with five points.
Golgohar will travel to Tehran to play Persepolis in a highly-anticipated game on Friday, with Foolad facing a formidable test in Tractor at home on Saturday.
In Isfahan, Rahman Jafari’s spot-kick deep into first-half added time made the difference, helping Iralco edge Zob Ahan 1-0, celebrating back-to-back wins to jump to 10th place with six points. Zob Ahan sits right above the relegation zone with five points.
On Thursday, Persepolis failed to secure a first home victory of the season, settling for a drab goalless stalemate against Malavan FC at Tehran’s Shahr-e Qods Stadium.
It also finished goalless between Tractor and Fajr Sepasi in Tabriz.