Esteghlal Khuzestan goes top, Persepolis wins, Esteghlal beaten
Tehran Times – TEHRAN, Persepolis football team beat Gostaresh Foolad 4-2 in the 29th week of Iran Professional League to stay on course for winning the title.
Farshad Ahmadzadeh opened the scoring for Persepolis in the 31st minute while Mohammad Ansari made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute.
Gostaresh’s Mohammad Ebrahimi made it 2-1 for the host thanks to a wonderful free kick from edge of the penalty box.
Persepolis captain Omid Alishah found the back of the net to make it 3-1 in the 69th minute with a header and he opened the goal with a rocket shot 16 minutes later.
Darioush Shojaeian scored for Gostaresh three minutes before the final whistle to make it 4-2 but it was too late for the host to come back.
In Tehran, Tractor Sazi defeated Esteghlal 3-2 in front of more than 80,000 fans at the Azadi Stadium to dent Esteghlal’s title hopes.
Esteghlal’s Amin Haj Mohammad put the host in front in the 14th minute but Brazilian Augusto leveled it seven minutes later for Tractor Sazi.
Soroush Rafiei made it 2-1 for Tractor Sazi with a shot from inside the box. Sajjad Shahbazzadeh leveled it for Esteghlal two minutes into the second half but Hajmohammadi’s vital error in defense in the 79th minute put an end to the game. Cameroonian Aloys Nong took advantage of HajMohammadi’s mistake in defense and put the ball into the back of the net in a one on one situation with Mehdi Rahmati.
Esteghlal dropped to third with 51 points and will only win the title when Persepolis and Esteghlal Khuzestan lose on the final day ant the team beat Saba.
Elsewhere in Mashahd, Esteghlal Khuzestan edged past Padideh 1-0 to go top with 54 points. Hassan Beyt Saeed scored the sole goal of the game for Esteghlal Khuzestan with a header in the 30th minute.
Furthermore, already-relegated Esteglal Ahvaz lost to Saipa 2-1, Malavan drew 1-1 with Saba, Naft Tehran beat Foolad 2-1, Rah Ahan defeated Sepahan 1-0 and Zob Ahan beat Siah Jamegan 3-1.