Zob Ahan 2-1 Emirates [VIDEO]

AFC – ESFAHAN, Zob Ahan battled back from a goal down to a record a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Emirates at Foolad Shahr Stadium on Wednesday.

In a first half of few scoring opportunities, the visitors took a shock lead six minutes before the break through Nabil Daoudi.

It did not last long though as Seyed Mohammad Hosseini equalised just before half time and Igor Castro sealed Zob Ahan’s victory with a 55th minute goal.

Zob Ahan’s Shahab Gordon was the first of either keeper to be called into action when he did well to get a hand to Daoudi’s low shot with less than five minutes gone.

But after that there were few noteworthy opportunities as play was largely contested in midfield with the few forays forward from either side well dealt with by the respective defence.

It looked as though the first half was to come to a goalless conclusion but the visitors stunned their opponents in the 39th minute when they took the lead.

A long ball from Emirates’ own half over the top had the defence beaten and Gordan misjudged his attempted save, missing the ball completely to allow Daoudi to race on and finish from a tight angle.

But the lead did not last long as another goalkeeping error presented Zob Ahan with the leveller when Ahmad Ibrahim failed to catch a long throw from the right and Hosseini was on hand to nod into the empty net.

The hosts then went ahead 10 minutes into the second half when Ibrahim was unable to hold onto a Shahin Kheiri free-kick and succeeded in only pushing the ball into the path of Igor Castro, who had raced forward to pounce on the ball and stab home.

The pace of the game slowed down after that, though Emirates attempted to respond in the 69th minute when they were awarded a free-kick in a promising position but Karim Kerkar’s dipping effort was straight at Gordan.

Zob Ahan controlled possession for the remaining minutes and had a chance to add third in the last five minutes when Mohammad Reza Khalatbari – who had had a largely quiet game – struck a well-hit effort that Ibrahim got down to save well.

There was a scare for the Iranians though just before full time when Emirates enjoyed a spell of pressure but Zob Ahan held on to ensure their bid for the title got off to a winning start.