MNA – Esteqlal beat old foe Persepolis 1-0 in
their rescheduled 59th derby here on a rainy Saturday.
An unmarked striker Gholamreza Enayati scored the sole goal of eagerly
awaited Iran Pro League match in the 56th minute to warm the blues’ hearts
and silence the faithful reds occupying over 80,000 seats of Azadi Stadium
although the date of the game, Friday, the weekend holiday, changed.
Enayati came close to the opener on 11 minutes when his angled kick
following a corner dangerously passed the far post.
Persepolis forward Javad Kazemian receiving a superb pass in a swift
counterattack nine minutes later cleared skipper Mahmud Fekri but he failed
to beat the advancing keeper Vahid Taleblu.
Veteran midfielder-turned-fullback Karim Baqeri and fans breathed a sigh of
relief as former national player’s header landed on the roof of Persepolis
woodwork on 27 minutes.
Kazemian forced a save from Taleblu with a powerful kick from behind the box
six minutes after the break but it was Esteqlal, which opened the scoring.
Out-of-sorts right winger Farzad Majidi escaped an offside trap before
feeding Enayati, who found the net from close range.
Mojtaba Jabbari could double the scoring in the 77th minute when he clutched
on to a perfect through ball from Enayati but he hit the ball against the
slipping keeper Farshid Karimi’s chest.
Esteqlal celebrated the spirit-raising victory as the German referee
Wolfgang Stark blew his whistle to declare the end of traditional derby,
moving to the third spot of the 16-strong league.
