Isfahan - Sepahan won the first-leg final
match of the league cup 3-2 against the blue-clad Esteqlal of Tehran here
Friday.
The home team collected three points as it emerged victorious amid bust-up
and scuffle on and off the field. Supported by passionate fans in the
semifinished Naqsh-E Jahan stadium, Sepahan took the lead in the 10th minute
when Leon Estepanian curled a free-kick past out-of-sort Esteqlal keeper
Massoud Qassemi.
Blues in the stands unrolled their flags 17 minutes later as Yadollah Akbari
collected a well-flighted cross from Farzad Majidi in the area, beating
Sepahan Goalie Kamil Susko in a man-to-man challenge. The match turned sour
on 35 minutes when the fourth judge stopped the game to report to the
referee Fereydoun Esfahanian that Esteqlal manager Amir Qal'e-Noei
addressing the linesman had used foul language.
Qal'e-Noei and some blue officials invaded the pitch after Esfahanian
ordered Esteqlal head coach to quit the field. Supervisor referee Ebrahim
Mirza-Beigi said there was nothing wrong with the expulsion of Qal'e-Noei
and he was sent off according to the FIFA regulations.
The situation was aggravated for Esteqlal in the 56th minute when the blues'
full-back Mohammad Khorramgah headed home an Estepanian cross.
Striker Gholam-Reza Enayati triggered celebrations among blue fans and a
scuffle between a Sepahan official and Qal'e-Noei and his associate in the
stand on 80 minutes when he scored the equalizer with a header.
Qal'e-Noei, who steered his side from the stand was opposed and then punched
by a Sepahan official, identified as Keshavarz, prompting the police to rush
to the scene and control the violence. But it was a "freaky Friday" for
Esteqlal as the yellows grabbed the winner, leaving a bitter taste on the
Blues' palate.
