Iranian Hazfi Cup:
Tractor beats Persepolis in shootout thriller to advance to last 16
Iranian international goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand produced a heroic shootout performance against his former club as Tractor edged Persepolis 8-7 in Tabriz to progress to the round of 16 of the Hazfi Cup.
Mahdi Torabi, also an ex-Persepolis player, broke the deadlock 11 minutes into the second half when his set piece from the left flank lobbed Persepolis keeper Payam Niazmand and went in off the post.
Just when the hosts appeared to be on their way to a first win in seven attempts against Persepolis since October 2022, Reds center-back Hossein Kan’anizadegan headed home a corner kick with virtually final touch of the match in the sixth minute of stoppage time to force extra time.
The momentum shifted dramatically just before the end of the first period of extra time as Tractor went down to 10 men following a second booking for fullback Mohammad Naderi. Persepolis, however, failed to capitalize on the one-man advantage, and the match moved to a penalty shootout.
The shootout itself was full of twists and turns. Tractor missed its first two efforts: Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh hit the post and Danial Esmaeilifar was denied by Niazmand, either side of Kan’anizadegan’s successful attempt. Beiranvand then kept out Marco Bakic’s effort to give Tractor a lifeline.
Persepolis defender Morteza Pouraliganji sent his effort wide to level the score, but Niazmand saved Tractor’s fifth penalty by Farshad Faraji to put Persepolis on the brink of victory. Beiranvand, however, had other ideas, coming to Tractor’s rescue again with a save against Mohammad Omri.
It all came down to the 11th kick. Beiranvand denied Kan’anizadegan to send his side into the next round against Shams Azar, while Persepolis crashed out at this stage for a third successive season.
Tractor will be back at the Yadegar-e Imam Stadium to take on Qatar’s Al Duhail in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, while Persepolis will play away to Mes Rafsanjan in the Iranian top flight on Friday.