Giti Pasand into AFC Club Futsal Championship final

Tehran Times – TEHRAN, Sanaye Giti Pasand defeated Japanese Nagoya Oceans on Saturday and advanced to the final of the AFC Club Futsal Championship 2013.

The Iranian futsal team broke the heart of host Nagoya Oceans with a 3-2 victory at the Ocean Arena in Nagoya.

Hossein Tayebi scored a winner in the 39th minute to complete a brilliant come-from-behind win over the Japanese who suffered their first defeat of the campaign, The-AFC wrote.

The Iran international had scored six goals in five matches he had played in the AFC Futsal Championship 2012 in the United Arab Emirates a year ago.

Nagoya’s Wataru Kitahara opened the Japanese lead in the 9th minute but Afsin Kazemi brought the affair at level terms in the 16th minute. Two minutes later, Taha Mortaza put Sanaye 2-1 ahead but Nagoya captain Tomoki Yoshikawa fired a goal in the 32nd minute to make it 2-2 before Tayebi struck the winner a minute from time for the defending champions who will take on either Chonburi Bluewave of Thailand or China’s Shenzhen Nanling on Sunday’s final.

“I knew that it would not be easy to defeat Nayoga here without putting on strong show,” a visibly ecstatic Sanaye coach Reza Aliabady said after the match.

“There were moments when we were not at top of the things but anyway winning this one is very important for us and Iranian futsal.

“There was nothing much to differentiate between the sides and there are lots of things that we learnt from them (Nagoya).

Giti Pasand will face Thailand’s Chonburi Blue Wave in the final match on Sunday.

Nagoya Oceans and Shenzhen Nanling will play in bronze medal match.