Persian Gulf Pro League roundup:
Persepolis stunned by Sepasi; Esteghlal, Tractor draw blank
Persepolis missed the opportunity to go top of the Persian Gulf Pro League table after suffering a 2-1 away defeat to Fajr Sepasi at the Pars Shiraz Stadium on Sunday.
Hossein Shahabi, who was on target when the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture, put the home side ahead eight minutes into the game, before Reza Shekari drew the visiting Reds level midway through the first half.
Persepolis desperately pushed for a second goal afterwards but it was the home side which restored the lead through former Reds striker Mahdi Sharifi in the 65th minute. Fajr held on to inflict only a second league defeat on Brazilian head coach Osmar Loss Vieira across his two spells on the Persepolis bench and move up to seventh in the table with 21 points.
A win would have seen the Reds leapfrog Sepahan, which was held to a goalless stalemate at home the previous day, to top the table on goal difference. Instead, their second defeat of the league campaign saw them drop to third – level on 28 points with Tehran archrival Esteghlal.
Playing without their foreign star duo Jasir Asani and Munir El Haddadi, Esteghlal shared the spoils with defending champion Tractor at home later on Sunday to go second thanks to a superior goal difference.
Dragan Skocic’s Tractor, meanwhile, was left lagging behind in fourth with 26 points after settling for a seventh goalless scoreline in 16 outings in the domestic league.
It also finished goalless between Shams Azar and Esteghlal Khuzestan in Qazvin. The point was enough for the home side to move out of the relegation zone on goal difference over Zob Ahan, which fell 2-0 to Paykan on Friday. Esteghlal Khuzestan sits 12th on 17 points.
In Arak, Golgohar Sirjan claimed a 2-1 away win against Iralco to go fifth – tied on points with Tractor.
Star winger Mahdi Tikdari bagged his fourth goal of the campaign from the spot in the 20th minute, only to see his opener canceled out by Iralco’s Ali Vatandoust nine minutes later.
Pouria Shahrabadi scored the winner nine minutes after the break to lead Mahdi Tartar’s Golgohar to a third successive league victory.
The Iranian top flight will resume on Thursday, with Tractor hosting bottom-club Mes Rafsanjan in Tabriz, while Esteghlal will visit Zob Ahan in Isfahan.
The eagerly-awaited fixture of the weekend’s action, however, will see Persepolis and Sepahan go head-to-head on Friday in a crunch ‘Iranian Clasico’ at the Sardar Azadeyan Stadium in Qazvin, which will serve as the Reds’ home venue for the day.