MNA – Saipa and Fulad reduced to 10 men but
they overcame leader Zob Ahan and aimless Persepolis 1-0 in the sixth week
of the fifth Iran Pro League Monday.
Hamid-Reza Rajabi handed table-topper Zob Ahan the first defeat in
Fuladshahr Stadium in central city of Isfahan as he scored the sole goal of
the match one minute before the interval.
The visiting Saipa was forced to play the last 34 minutes with 10 men when
Alireza Abbasfard received his marching orders from the referee Saeed
Bat’haii.
Later in the day holder Fulad sank troubled Persepolis, giving the confused
reds the second loss in Takhti Stadium in Abadan.
The southerners fought back against the expulsion of Siamak Sarlak, who was
sent off for his second bookable offense on 43 minutes, grabbing the winner
six minutes into the second half.
Goalkeeping blunder by Mohammad Mohammadi let Nader Ahmadi find the net in a
goalmouth melee.
The visitor having no game plan crammed into Fulad’s box a host of times but
it never found the finishing touch.
Persepolis nosedives to 14th spot with meager five points and one match in
hand and Fulad lies in the seventh place on seven points.
Veteran trainer and technical manager Ali Parvin, who had vowed to reshuffle
Persepolis technical cadre if it would lose the away match, is now in a
tight corner.
In Monday’s other game, Saba Battery canceled out Sepahan’s early goal to
stun the visitor 3-1 in Shahid Derakhshan Stadium in Sabashahr.
Sepahan took the lead in the second minute when Seyyed Mehdi Seyyed Salehi
celebrated his opener but national and Saba skipper Ali Daei gatecrashed
their party, hitting his double on 33 and 53 minutes.
The home team forced Sepahan to take the ball out of the net in the 55th
minute as Saeed Daqiqi struck the third.
Pas also saw off the black-shirted Abu Moslem 2-0 in Shahid Dastgerdi
Stadium, west of Tehran.
Striker Mohsen Bayatinia put the home side ahead in the 24th minute and
national midfielder Javad Nekunam made it 2-0 on 90 minutes.
The derby in Hafezieh Stadium in Shiraz between Fajr-e Sepassi and Barq
ended nil-nil.
