PGL Week 28 Review: Naft Catches Up With Tractor Sazi As Branko Records First Win

PERSIANFOOTBALL.COM – The 28^th week of Persian Gulf Pro League saw some important games take place which produced results that makes the table even more exciting in the coming games as the title hunt and battle for survival gets tighter and closer.

Games Of The Week:

Esteghlal Khuzestan 1-3 Sepahan

Hossein Faraki’s Sepahan travelled to Ahvaz to face Esteghlal Khuzestan. Sepahan seem to be hitting form in the business end of the season as they are very much in the title race and were hoping to keep up the pressure on Tractor Sazi and Naft Tehran. Esteghlal Khuzestan, however, are battling for survival as they were only 1 point above Peykan who are in a relegation play-off spot.

Game began with the away side taking the initiative as they pushed on for an early goal, and they were successful when a pass across the box from Sharifi found Moharram Navidkia at the far post who made no mistake to give his team the lead on the 3^rd minute. After the goal, Sepahan took a step back as the home side pushed forward for an equaliser. Mahdi Momeni was a threat as he kept on troubling the Sepahan back four but failed to get a goal. Second half started in the same manner, with Abdollah Veisi’s men pressing forward. But against the run of play, just after the hour mark, Luciano headed in his team’s second after a good run by Hajsafi found Hossein Papi on the left who put in the final ball. Momeni who had been on the right for the entire game, switched to the left and this tactical change paid off on 70^th minute as he cut inside from the left and his audacious effort found the back of the Sepahan net to make it 2-1. In added minutes, Sepahan finished the job after Khalatbari’s early cross from the right came to Luciano who turned his marker and finished expertly.

This win leaves Faraki on target to win the title again after his triumph with Foolad last season. The attacking quartet of Khalatbari, Navidkia, Luciano and Sharifi are really firing up as they put more pressure on Naft and Tractor Sazi. Esteghlal Khuzestan are now winless in 5 but their final game sees them up against Peykan who are now only one point behind them.

Tractor Sazi 1-1 Gostaresh Foolad

Yadegar Emam Stadium in Tabriz hosted this Tabriz derby where both sides had their own reasons to win. League leaders, Tractor Sazi, aimed to take another step towards the title with a win but their counterparts, Gostaresh Foolad, were desperate for a win to insure their status in the Persian Gulf Pro League for another season.

It was a cagey start to the game and both teams were battling to take control of the game. But as it has been the case in the last few games, Tractor Sazi looked for set pieces as key moments to score goals and it paid off when Brazilian centre back, Celio dos Santos, scored a bullet header from an Andranik corner to give the Reds the lead. After the goal, neither teams were keen to commit too many men forward, as most chances came from set pieces and counter attacks. Edinho for Tractor Sazi and Jaber Ansari for Gostaresh failed to finish their chances. However on the hour mark, the stadium was silenced when Leo Pimenta’s corner found Seyed Mohsen Hosseini, a former Tractor player, who headed in past the helpless Lak. The remainder of the game saw Gostaresh taking a hold of the game but they failed to score a second as the game ended 1-1.

This lacklustre performance sees Tractor now on equal points with Naft who won 2-1 against Padideh, but the Tabrizi club remains on top because of their superior goal difference. They have a very tough ending to the season as they face Esteghlal in Tehran next week before a title showdown against Naft.

Rest Of The Games:

Majid Jalali’s Saipa were defeated 2-1 by bottom team Rah Ahan. Mojtaba Shiri scored two inside the first 30 minutes as Rah Ahan are now on equal points with Peykan, whom they face next week in a must win game.

Karrar Jassim’s wonder strike helped Esteghlal record a 2-1 win against Saba Qom. This was Esteghlal’s first win after a 5 game winless run. Sajjad Shahbazzadeh scored the other goal for the Blues to take his tally up to 12 for the season.

A late goal by Alireza Ezzati secured a crucial 2-1 victory for Naft Tehran away to Padideh. Alireza Mansourian’s team remain 2^nd in the table but only on goal difference. Padideh are now comfortable in mid-table as they’ve secured survival in the league in their first season after promotion.

The only 0-0 draw of the week came in Anzali where Malavan held defending champions, Foolad, to a draw. Best chance of the game belonged to Mohsen Mosalman whose freekick rattled Iman Sadeghi’s bar in the Malavan goal. Draw leaves both teams with a lot to do as Malavan are still fighting for survival and Foolad have a long away to secure a AFC Champions League spot.

The on-form team of the league are Zob Ahan as they continued their formidable run with another win, this time against troubled Naft Masjed Soleyman. 22 year old striker, Danial Esmaeilifar, was on target in this 2-0 victory. They now overtake Foolad to 4^th on goal difference. On the other hand, this home defeat leaves Naft MS in further trouble as they are now 4 points away from safety with only two games left. Behrouz Makvandi has a mammoth task ahead of him to keep Naft MS safe as they have two tough games against Sepahan and Malavan coming.

Branko Ivankovic recorded his first victory as manager of Persepolis when they beat Peykan 1-0 at home with a Mahdi Taremi goal. This win doesn’t mean much for Persepolis in league table, but with so much happening off the pitch, this win will help settle the nerves and calm the atmosphere around the Reds’camp. Peykan’s form smells of relegation as they haven’t tasted a win since October, they still occupy a relegation play-off spot but are now on equal points with 15^th placed Rah Ahan.

Players Of The Week:

Luciano: The Brazilian striker has been on fire in recent week, scoring 6 goals in the last 4 games including a brace in each of the last two. His growing partnership with Mahdi Sharifi has been a delight to watch as Sepahan fans hope the two can fire the club to a title triumph.

Mojtaba Shiri: Rah Ahan secured an important victory as they take a huge step to safety. Mojtaba Shiri was his team’s hero as he scored two goals to get his team through the line. Farhad Kazemi will be hoping for similar performances in the coming weeks as they hope to retain their status in the league.

Ghasem Haddadifar: In the midst of Zob Ahan’s fantastic performances of late, Haddadifar has been an unsung hero. His experience is very important in their young midfield. His ability to sit and break up play and control the tempo of the game at the same time, has been key to Golmohammadi’s side.