Iran goal scorer Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht (right) is challenged by Mohammed Sanad during the 2-2 draw with Kuwait. (AFP)

KUWAIT CITY – Kuwait came back from an early two-goal deficit to pick up their first point in Group Three of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with a 2-2 draw against Iran at Al Kuwait Stadium on Wednesday.

Kuwait fell behind after only two minutes as Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht gave Iran the perfect start and Seyed Jalal Hosseini doubled the advantage for Ali Daei's side a couple of minutes later.

Ahmed Ajab pulled a goal back for Kuwait on 38 minutes before second half substitute Fahad Al Rashidi headed home the equaliser with nine minutes remaining to salvage a point for the home team. Iran enjoyed an impressive start and had a 2-0 lead after only four minutes.

They opened the scoring after 90 seconds after a deep free-kick by Seyed Jalal Hosseini found Nikbakht. With his back to the goal, the 27-year-old Perspolis midfielder stopped the ball with his chest before launching a bicycle kick past Kuwait goalkeeper Khaled Al Fadhli.

Hosseini went from provider to scorer two minutes later after a blunder by Al Fadhli gifted Iran a second goal.

Hosseini sent another free-kick into the Kuwait penalty box and it appeared that Al Fadhli had the ball covered but the 33-year-old bumped into his own defender, Hussein Fadel, and fell to the ground, allowing the ball to enter the empty net. Kuwait should have pulled a goal back on eight minutes when Jarrah Al Ataiqi had a powerful shot from inside the area saved by Iran goalkeeper Seyed Mehdi Rahmati.

The home side had another chance seven minutes later when an acrobatic shot by Ajab from inside the area went wide while Hussein Fadel sent his header over the crossbar on the half-hour mark. Kuwait eventually pulled a goal back in the 38th minute when Hosseini attempted to head the ball back to his goalkeeper but Ajab was faster than Rahmati and place his right-footed shot into the far right corner.

Kuwait went close again on 56 minutes when Mesaed Nada’s powerful free-kick went near the left upright and two minutes later, Bader Al Mutawa’s shot from inside the area came back off the far post. In the 65th minute, Al Mutawa found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat but Rahmati palmed his shot away for a corner.

Gacanin brought in Al Rashidi and the Al Hazm striker had the ball in the net in the 77th minute but the effort was disallowed for offside.

However, he was not to be denied on 81 minutes when Mohamad Jarragh crossed from the left for an unmarked Al Rashidi to score with a powerful header to the left of Seyed Mehdi Rahmati. Iran could have regained the lead with four minutes remaining when Nikbakht met a cross from the right with a first-time volley that went wide.

Kuwait finished the game with only 10 players as defender Mesaed Nada was sent off in the stoppage time for a bad tackle on Ebrahim Sadeghisenjani.

KUWAIT CITY – Kuwait coach Rodion Gacanin praised his team’s resilience on Wednesday as they recovered from an early two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against Iran in their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Al Kuwait Stadium.

The Kuwaitis looked to be headed for their second straight loss in Group Three after falling behind to goals by Alireza Vahedi Nikbakht and Seyed Jalal Hosseini in the first four minutes of the match.But Ahmed Ajab pulled one back before half-time and substitute Fahad Al Rashidi equalised with nine minutes remaining to salvage a point for the home team."I would like to congratulate the players for the fighting spirit that they showed throughout the game,” said the Croat.

“The players made a great comeback despite the two early goals that we conceded."Our team played well and forced our game against the Iranian players.
“We had a lot of chances to score but we couldn't convert them and we nearly got away with a victory at the end.”

Gacanin admitted though that his future with the national team remains unclear."We still have a chance to qualify from this group especially after the draw earlier today between Syria and United Arab Emirates. “But I don't know about my future with the team as I haven’t receive anything yet whether I am to continue with the team or not."

Ali Daei was disappointed not to pick up three points from his first competitive match as Iran coach but he still offered up his praise for the performance of the Kuwaitis. "This is the best ever performance that I have seen from Kuwait,” said the Iranian legend.
“I have to admit that I was surprised by their performance especially after coming from two goals down to get a point from the game. "Our two early goals put us in a good position but our defensive mistakes saw us concede two goals although the assistant referee had a hand in their second goal as I thought we deserved a throw-in."