Persepolis pays the penalty for late blooper

MNA – Persepolis conceded a late penalty and home 3-2 loss to holder Fulad in the 21st week of the fifth Iran Pro League in the capital’s Azadi Stadium Friday.
Veteran defender Ali Ansarian, who took the lead for the red-shirted Persepolis from the penalty spot in the first half, awarded the visitor a spot-kick two minutes from time.

Midfielder Pejman Nuri was tripped in the 38th minute and the referee Massud Moradi showed the spot. A plucky Ansarian kept his nerves to send in-form keeper Hassan Huri the wrong way with a coolly-struck kick.

The southerners, however, secured the parity with an angled left drive from Iraqi import Emad Reza just ahead of halftime.

Fulad celebrated the second after Omid Sharifi-Nassab and national right winger Hossein Kabi combined and Kabi’s through ball dodged a handful of players in the crowded area, taking a deflection off substitute Hojjat Chaharmahali into the left corner.

Milad Nuri well fed by Reza should have doubled the cushion in his confrontation with Persepolis keeper Farshid Karimi on edge of the box two minutes later.

The outgoing manager Ali Parvin breathed a sigh of relief on 79 minutes when striker Sohrab Entezari duped his marker as he let skipper Hamed Kavianpur’s low cross find the waiting forward Javad Kazemian, whose powerful drive found the net after shaving Huri’s hands.

Persepolis and Fulad looked to split points, but a defending blunder from Ansarian wrapped up his side’s seventh defeat in the season. The fullback brought down Reza and Sharifi-Nassab poked home the spot-kick.

The dramatic victory helped Fulad leap three places to the fifth spot on 32 points while Persepolis remains in the ninth place with 28 points.

In other games, pacesetter Saipa and the visiting Zob Ahan struggled to a goalless tie, Saba Battery tamed Sepahan 2-0 at home, bottom-placed Shamushak changed its place with 15th-placed Shahid Qandi with a 1-0 win over the Yazd-based team, Pas edged past home team Abu Moslem 1-0, and Fajr-e Sepassi and Barq fought to a nil-nil draw in a derby.

The remaining matches between Esteqlal of Ahvaz and Malavan and Rah Ahan and Esteqlal of Tehran will be played in Shushtar and Tehran Sunday and Monday respectively.