By: Majeed Panahi
PLDC
- Esteghlal Tehran defeated Foolad Mobarekeh Sepahan with a comprehensive
3-0 score line to open a four point’s gap on their nearest and
traditional rivals; Perspolis after the latter failed to register a win
against Zob Ahan.
The match in Azadi stadium in front of a disappointing 7000 estimated fans
was a breath of fresh air for the Esteghlal faithful. The team played an
organized football using the spaces and distributing the ball well across
the pitch. Both of the flanks were quite busy today as Akbarpour and
Navazi created numerous threatening balls for crosses or passes into the
penalty box.
The absence of notorious Nikbakht was hardly felt as Navazi single
handedly awarded Esteghlal this precious win. His first contribution was
the lovely ball for Fatemi who managed to out-run the slow Sepahan defense
while Petrossian came out to intercept him. Fatemi was obstructed by
Petrossian and the referee had no hesitation to call a penalty. Although
there was a mild protest from Sepahan, the referee’s decision was quite
right. Navazi took the penalty himself, and made no mistake. 1-0 for
Esteghlal.
The blues dominated most of the match while Sepahan was a shy team lacking
in confidence. There were a few offensive moves by Sepahan spearheaded by
the lively Afshin Hajipour but to no avail, By the start of the second
half. disaster struck at Sepahan’s defense. Navazi took the ball on the
right and send a delicate chip towards the penalty box, but the
unfortunate Sepahan defender deflected the ball powerfully into his own
net. What little confidence Sepahan had was beginning to crumble by now.
Esteghlal reduced their pace slightly after the goal giving Sepahan the
initiative to attack. Hajipour, tremendous performance nearly translated
into a goal as his diagonal low pass powerful shot hit the bar. Karimi had
a couple of good attempts but to no avail. Edmond Bizik had little chance
and his contribution was poor in this match.
At late stages, Esteghlal was more concerned about keeping the result;
however a good maneuver by Momenzadeh on the right created the third and
killer goal. Momenzadeh controlled the ball well, spotted Deenmohamadi
just inside the box unmarked, and sent him a nice cross for the little guy
to head it right in the upper corner for goal number three. The match
ended in a comprehensive 3-0 victory for the leaders.
Perspolis
and Zob Ahan battled well in Esfahan. The Early goal from Entezari in the
first half was perhaps a sign of revival for Perspolis team that has been
under immense pressure due to their poor recent form. Zob Ahan on the
other hand had aspiration of their own and after they equalized, they
could had won the match if it was not for the terrible miss by Ramazni who
was all on his own to beat the keeper. His shot was directed right at the
keeper who parried it and for Zob Ahan to curse their luck.
In
general however, the match was well balanced and a draw was fair to both
teams.
The worst result of the day and wasted chances must go to Pas Tehran who
missed yet another opportunity to threaten the big two. After leading the
match against Abo Moslem, from a goal by Khodadad Azizi they could not
keep their lead for long as they conceded the equalizer. However, the
biggest blunder must be given to Rasoul Khatibi, who missed his 3rd
penalty of the season at a crucial stage and time for his club. A mistake
by the coach who is insisting on giving Khatibi the penalties and fro
Khatibi himself, could very well mean the end of the Championships hope of
Pas.
While the IPL is nearing its climax. The standard has suddenly improved
and the teams have shown some remarkable resilience under pressure of the
fixtures and poor pitches. This all augurs well for an exciting end of the
season. While Esteghlal has more difficult fixtures than the others, they
still can claim to be the most tactically accomplished team in IPL and
perhaps with this gap in points, they could very well be on the road to
keep the title.
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