MehrNews – Pas and Sepahan won
their first matches in the four-sided tournament of Iran’s Football
Association here Wednesday, fighting in the final on Aug. 22.
In the opening game, Pas of Tehran beat the UAE’s Al Wasl 1-0 in the
100,000-seater Azadi Stadium, 10km west of Tehran.
Abbas Aqaei grabbed the winner for Pas two minutes into the second half when
he headed home a cross in the goalmouth.
Ali Khosravi refereed the match.
Sepahan, the second Iran Pro League champion, and Tehran’s Esteqlal played
the second match in front of some 7,000 fans.
Sepahan’s new signing Rassoul Khatibi stunned the blues as he celebrated his
goal in the first minute.
Esteqlal secured the parity when Fabrisio -- imported from Brazil – dribbled
past Sepahan goalkeeper and patted the ball in twenty-three minutes later.
Ten minutes from the break, Esteqlal took the lead when Mohammad Navazi
playing on the right flank converted a penalty. Referee Hossein Yadi showed
the spot after Alireza Vahedi-Nikbakht was brought down in the area.
Rassoul Khatibi scored his second and Sepahan’s equalizer in the 60th minute
and the Armenian skipper of the Isfahani side scored cold water on Esteqlal
camp 13 minutes later when he scored from the penalty spot, giving the
yellows a 3-2 victory.
Moharram Navidkia, Player of Second Iran Pro League, missed a penalty in the
last moment of the match.
Esteqlal and Al Wasl will array their players in the third-place playoff at
15:30 on August 22 and Pas-Sepahan fight for the trophy will kick off at
17:30.
