Two for Taheri in Iran clean sweep

AFC – TASHKENT, Mohammad Taheri was named Most Valuable Player and top goal scorer at the AFC Futsal Championship 2010 after scoring 13 goals for free-scoring champions Iran, who completed a clean sweep of the accolades after also being handed the Fair Play Award.

Taheri scored once in Sunday’s 8-3 final victory over hosts Uzbekistan with Masoud Daneshvar adding a brace to claim second place on the leading marksmen list with 11 goals in six games.

Taheri made a flying start to the tournament with seven goals in Iran’s 19-2 opening day win over Tajikistan before adding a brace in the 9-3 victory over Australia.

Another brace in the 7-0 win over Kuwait, which secured top spot in Group B, soon followed before Taheri scored in the 7-1 quarter-final win over Lebanon.

Taheri did not find the net in the 7-0 semi-final victory over Japan before handing Iran a 3-2 half-time lead in the final against Uzbekistan a minute before the break.

With Hossein Shams’ Iran netting 57 goals in six games in Uzbekistan, Mostafa Tayyebi and Mohammadreza Zahmatkesh joined China’s Zhang Xi on seven goals.

Uzbekistan’s Nodir Elibaev, who scored twice in the final defeat by Iran, finished tied alongside Australia’s Tomas Rogic and Thailand’s Suphawut Thueanklang with six goals.