Persian Gulf Pro League: Week 26 Review

Persianfootball.com – As the title hunt and the fight to avoid relegation from the 2014/15 Persian Gulf Pro League gets exciting, we look at the 26^th round and summarize the 8 games which took place by highlighting ‘Games of the Week’ and ‘Players of the Week’.

Games Of the Week

Zob Ahan 5-3 Naft Tehran

As Alireza Mansourian’s men occupied the top spot in the league table, they travelled to Esfahan in the hope of bouncing back from their defeat to Foolad in the previous week. On the other hand, Zob Ahan have been the on-form team in the league since the winter break and have seen themselves rise up the table with former Naft manager, Yahya Golmohammadi, at the helm.

The home side’s tactics were to press high up the pitch and it worked to perfection as they went 3-0 ahead inside the first half, through Kaveh Rezaei, Hadi Mohammadi and Danial Esmaeilifar, before Kamal Kamyabinia gave Naft a consolation just before half time. Second half began with the same intensity and 23 year old Kaveh Rezaei scored another two to give his team a 5-1 lead and shock the league leaders. Zob Ahan weren’t able to keep up the same intensity for the entire match and Naft took advantage with two late goals through Arsalan Motahari and Hossein Ebrahimi as the game ended 5-3.

Zob Ahan ran out deserved winners as they took full advantage of Naft’s lack of pace in defence and with current form, they are formidable opponents for anyone in the league. Naft, on the other hand, will be looking to regroup quickly with games coming thick and fast.

TractorSazi 2-1 Saipa

Tractor Sazi have been a rejuvenated side since Toni Oliveira’s return to the club and were a point behind Naft. He boasts a good record, only one defeat in 6 games since his return, which came last week against Sepahan in a 2-1 loss. Saipa have been a little inconsistent of late but they knew they faced a tough challenge in Tabriz.

Saipa shell-shocked the home side when, against the run of play, Mohammad Nozhati gave them an early lead after a mix up between Habib Gordani and Hamed Lak. Second half, Majid Jalali’s men looked to double their lead but they faced an in-form Lak in goal who kept his team in the game with a string of saves. Tractor Sazi were getting frustrated but it was on the 82^nd minute where a header by Mirhani Hashemi from an Andranik corner was saved well by Saipa’ keeper but Mohsen Delir tapped in the rebound to the delight of their fans. However, the game was won in the dying seconds of the game, it was a trademark Andranik throw-in which was headed in by Saipa midfielder, Hamed Shiri, to give Tractor a 2-1 victory.

Tractor weren’t in great form but with a bit of luck, and thanks to Lak’s saves, managed to get the all important three points. This win takes Tractor Sazi to the top of the league with 4 games remaining. Saipa who lie comfortably in mid-table, can be pleased with their performance but Jalali will ask for more concentration from his players in the final phase of the game with their next game coming against Persepolis.

Persepolis 1-2 Sepahan

Possibly the most anticipated game of the week came at Azadi stadium where Persepolis hosted Sepahan, who after their late 2-1 win against Tractor Sazi last week, were hoping for more of the same. This game saw the first game of Branko Ivankovic in charge of Persepolis following the sacking of Hamid Derakhshan, he was facing a familiar face on the other bench in Hossein Faraki whom he worked with for many years at Team Melli.

First half saw an equal game but Persepolis had the better chances with Nouri and Taremi missing from close range. Just before the half time whistle, Hamid Ali Asgari’s cross from the right hand side found Hadi Norouzi who made no mistake with a side footed finish past Shahab Gordan to give the home team the lead. Second half resumed in the same manner as Persepolis broke on the counter and Vouria Ghafouri brought down Taremi in the penalty area but the referee cautioned the Persepolis striker with a yellow for stimulation, to the frustration of Persepolis players. Hossein Papi, was introduced on the hour mark, and he proved to be a danger from the left side as his crosses were threatening the Persepolis goal. It was one of his crosses which forced Ali Asgari to make a mistake and Sharifi pounced to equalise on the 83^rd minute. Persepolis were now on the back foot and conceded again after a cross from the left side found Brazilian striker, Luciano, who gave Sepahan the 3 points.

Persepolis will be disappointed not to get anything after the game but they have themselves to blame as they missed many goalscoring chances and ultimately handed Sepahan the win. Faraki’s team are now back in the title as they’re laying 3^rd in the league only 3 points behind leaders Tractor Sazi.

Rest Of The Games:

In Anzali, Malavan came back to earn a point against Esteghlal with a 1-1 draw, this leaves Esteghlal with a tough challenge to get an AFC Champions League spot. 17^th placed Naft Masjed Soleyman are now closer to relagation following a 3-2 defeat to Foolad which sees them drop to the foot of the table, whereas Foolad are now 4^th and chasing a top 3 finish. Peykan and Saba Qom played out the only 0-0 draw of the week as former Iran international, Mahdi Rahmati, performed fantastically to earn his team a point as they now occupy relegation play-off spot. In Mashhad, Padideh, who have had many off-field problems of late, pulled out a hard earned 2-1 victory against Gostaresh Foolad who had been in good form lately, all three goals of the game came in the first 20 minutes but Padideh managed to see the game through. Elsewhere, Ramin Rezaeian scored two goals to earn his team, Rah Ahan, a draw at home against Esteghlal Khuzestan. This point sees Rah Ahan finally rise off the foot of the table to 17^th as they are now 3 points off safety.

Players Of The Week

Ramin Rezaeian: The Iranian international right back, inspired his team to a crucial 2-2 draw with two important goals. Rezaeian has now scored 6 goals from right back and with his contract expiring this summer, he’ll be in high demand.

Kaveh Rezaei:  The 23 year old striker tormented the Naft Tehran defence with his explosive pace and capped a fantastic performance with his second hattrick of the season. Yahya Golmohammadi will be hoping for his form to continue as they chase a Champions League spot.

Hamed Lak: Tractor were considered lucky to get a win against Saipa and they have their goalkeeper to thank who kept them in it with some fabulous saves. Lak, who has been the number 1 since the appointment of Toni, repaid the faith his manager put him with that kind of performance.