Abu Moslem, Saba Battery draw first leg of Hazfi Cup final

TEHRAN - Abu Moslem and Saba Battery shared a 1-1 draw in the Iran Hazfi Cup final at the Shahid Derakhshan Stadium in Sabashahr, near here, on Tuesday.

Saeed Daqiqi skirted two defenders and found the net for Saba in the 36th minute on a cross from national captain Ali Daei. In the 60th minute Daei once again supplied the ball to Daqiqi and the latter had to beat only Abu Moslem goalkeeper Mehdi Sabeti but poor finishing robbed them of this chance.

Substitute Mohammad-Reza Khal’atbari headed home the equaliser for Abu Moslem in the 79th minute.

The second leg will be played on Friday in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. The champions of this tournament will represent Iran in the AFC Champions League.