Iran 6 Malaysia 0
Azadi Stadium, Tehran
Asian Football Qualifiers 2004 - Group A

TEHRAN - Iran's Olympic side kept their Athens 2004 dream alive as they put on their best performance of the Asian Football Qualifiers 2004 so far with a 6-0 thrashing of Malaysia at the Azadi Stadium on Friday.

Needing a win to keep the pressure on Group A leaders Korea Republic, Iran dominated from start to finish, getting goals from six different players to record the most decisive of victories.

Despite the win, the Persians remain three points adrift of the Koreans with only one match remaining and must hope for their rivals to stumble against China in Changsha on Saturday in order to set up a final day showdown in Seoul on May 12 for a spot at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

With goal difference being the first tie-breaker in the event of the top two teams being level on points at the end of the Asian Football Qualifiers, Iran made their attacking intentions clear right from the start as they took complete control of the midfield and exerted tremendous pressure on the Malaysian goal.

Malaysian goalkeeper Syamsuri Mustafa did well to save a powerful 25-yard drive by Iman Mobali on 13 minutes, but he was left helpless nine minutes later when a defensive mistake by Aziz Ismail allowed the Iranians to take a deserved lead. Aziz should have had no problem dealing with a throw-in by Hossein Kabei, but he misjudged the bounce of the ball, heading it backwards for Arash Borhani to score the opening goal with an overhead kick.

Iran practically laid siege to the Malaysian goal in the opening half with Siavash Akbarpour and Borhani squandering opportunities before Iman Mobali made it 2-0 with a spectacular strike seven minutes before the break. Receiving the ball in midfield, Mobali charged towards goal, sidestepping Norhafiz Zamani 20 yards out before unleashing a fierce shot into the top right hand corner of the Malaysian net that gave Syamsuri no chance.

Malaysia spent nearly the entire first period in their own half but they did get the opportunity to pull a goal back when a mistake by Kabei allowed Rahan Koran a shot from just outside the box that went narrowly wide.

The second half continued in much the same vein with Mohammad Nosrati having a header cleared off the line by Malaysian defender Yosri Derma Raju and Satar Zare's low drive pushed aside by Syamsuri.

However, the Iranian pressure finally told in the last 20 minutes of the game as the resistance of the Malaysia defence finally collapsed. The floodgates opened on 70 minutes when Kabei received a pass from Borhani on the edge of the Malaysian box and delicately chipped the ball into the net after spotting Syamsuri just off his line.

Iran skipper Moharram Navidkia got in on the scoring act eight minutes later as he received the ball from Mobali 20 yards out and sent another chip over the head of Syamsuri and into the net.

Satar Zare had a big hand in the fifth goal, surging down the left wing before sending in a perfect cross for Ali Alizadeh to head into the net in the 83rd minute.

Poor defending a minute later resulted in Iran scoring a sixth. Yosri failed to stop the run of substitute Mehrzad Madanchi, who went past a weak challenge by goalkeeper Syamsuri before rolling the ball into the empty Malaysian net.

Iran could have added to the score but a late header by Madanchi was cleared off the Malaysian line.

In addition to ending Iran's scoring blues, the big margin of victory means that the Iranians now have a slightly better goal difference than the Koreans in Group A, a factor that could prove decisive if China do beat the Koreans on Saturday.