Tag: Alireza Haghighi

04/10/2017

Biranvand dipping form, a worry for Team Melli.

Just as most Team Melli fan breathed a sigh of relief for having a strong and reliable goalkeeper between the post of Team Melli goal line, Alireza Biranvand has hit his lowest form since joining Iran’s squad.

After years of unceratinity and problems in the goalkeeping post with several changes of goalkeepers, it was apparent that the young Biranvand has displayed the form that augurs well for the future of Team Melli. His reflexes, Aerial command and body frame is a source of confidence for the coaches and defenders alike. It seems all is settled at the back and the guardian of Team Melli during the world cup 2018 would be none other than Alireza Biranvand.

Biranvand kept 17 clean sheets in the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers including 12 consecutive clean sheets lasting 1108 minutes. This is a statistic of the highest caliber.

And then, the Syria match!

For the first and last time in Round 3, Iran concedes a goal, in fact two goals against Syria. On both of the goals, Birnavand was the culprit and weak. The second Syrian goal in the added time of the match, was particularly embarrassing as mild shot by Syria’s Omar Al Souma passed between Biranvands wide open legs into the net.

This was the start of a spiral dive in form by Biranvand as Persepolis look exposed with Birnavand in goal. Almost all the goals conceded had a hallmark of bad goalkeeping. The Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal scored 4 goals passed him in the semifinal first leg of the AFC Champions League. In the Persian Gulf League, Biranvand was not doing well either as he was a culprit in several of the goals conceded that resulted in Persepolis dropping from the top spot of the league table.

Branko Ivankovic had enough of the long spell of bad performance by Biranvand and has benched him for the next Persepolis league match; however, the concern remains if Queiroz has still confidence in him. If the last 5 or 6 matches are to go by, Team Melli cannot rely on Biranvand and must find a suitable replacement. Haghighi, who is playing in Sweden now, has been called again. He is the most natural replacement if Birnavand does not improve vastly. In all cases, goalkeeping is once again becoming a worry.

07/06/2016

Team Melli scores 6 past Kyrgyzstan.

Team Melli cruised to a comfortable 6-0 win against Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday in the friendly International match held at Azadi Stadium in front of 4500 fans.

Iran scored early through Masoud Shojaei’s penalty on the 6^th minute , before Mehdi Taremi made it 2-0 with a double-header , first saved by the keeper while the rebound to Taremi himself was headed home for a goal. Torabi sealed the first half with a brilliant shot from an angle at 29^th minute.

The second half with several changes only came alive late after both teams struggled to find a rhythm due to the many substitutions that seems to disrupt the international friendly games nowadays.

However , as soon as Team Melli settled, the team played with style and finesse resulting in another three goals and many missed ones too. Karim Ansarifard eventually scored after missing many chances in the match in the 68^th minute. Sardar Azmoun who just came in as a substitute for Taremi made it 5-0 with a spectacular ball from immaculate teamwork and finally Ansarifard scored the 6^th after Azmoun’s ball rebounded from the post for Karim to slot in his 2^nd of the match and Iran’s final goal.

This was a good practice match for Team Melli. The opposition was not as strong as hoped however , there were some brilliant teamwork, individual skills and fine ball distribution. Like always there were lessons to be learned from this match. The fact that the forwards were getting offside was quite noticeable. There is some works to be done on that. The player’s ball possession still needs to be looked at. The fact theat Iranian players keep the ball more than the average European professional is evident. This match was an improvement, but Queiroz has not yet managed to improve this to a higher level.

Haghighi in goal, despite not being truly tested in the match, was not convincing. His saves by punching and risky jumps between number of players was a sign of lack of real competition. His clearing of the ball by punching, left a lot to be desired.

The two debutant, Mahini and Tayebi performed played quite well. Both of the player played with confidence and did not look like it was their first international game for their country. Milad Mohammadi was a gem of a player especially when attacking from the flanks. His moves where delightful to watch. Mehdi Torabi , the Gazelle of Iran’s football , did not show his usual runs and skills yet still managed to score a beauty.

22/05/201622/05/2016

Alireza Haghighi at the wrong end of a thrashing.

Team Melli’s number one goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi was at the end of a real drubbing when Benfica strikers scored six goal in his net in the Portuguese Cup final.

Benfica thrashed CS Maritimo 6-2 in the Taca da Liga final in Coimbra to win the trophy for a third consecutive year.

Rui Vitoria’s men were crowned Portuguese champions last Sunday, edging Sporting CP to the title by two points and, following Friday’s convincing win, have now won two doubles and a treble in their last three seasons.

Benfica – who beat Maritimo 2-1 in last year’s final – have completely dominated the Taca da Liga since it was established in 2007-08, winning it seven times.

Haghighi played for the full 90 minutes of the match despite the large scoreline.

The much traveled Haghighi is still has signed for Ruben Kazan in 2012 player, however he only played 1 full game for the Russian club before being sent back to Persepolis on loan the next season where he only played 2 games only for the Tehrani club. In 2014 , Haghighi returned back to his club in Russia. Soon thereafter , Ruben Kazan loaned him again this time to the Portuguese club Sporting Covilhã in 2014 where he made 14 appearances. In season 2014–2015 he was loaned to Penafiel where he played 24 league matches and this season 2015/16 to CS Marítimo.

Despite the less than ideal performance and some say poor figures, Carlos Queiroz maintains full faith in Haghighi as one of the untouchables of Team Melli in similar category of Masoud Shojaei.

The only serious competition for the goalkeeper’s jersey seems to come from Alirreza Biranvand , but that is hardly much of a competition as the Naft Tehran keeper has time and again showed vital all round weaknesses in goal at club level.Mazaheri of Zob Ahan and Akhbari of Tractorsazi are the two other keepers in the squad , however , the former has a much better record in the league and is much more experienced that Akhbari.

31/10/201531/10/2015

Iran’s best goalkeeper is missing from Team Melli!

Very few would argue against the selection of Seyed Mehdi Rahmati as the Most Valuable Player of the 2015/16 derby between Esteghlal & Persepolis which ended in a 1-1 draw in front of 90,000 fans in Azadi on Friday 30^th of October. Amongst the huge crowds was the Head Coach of Team Melli, Carlos Queiroz.

Rahmati, single handedly (Literally) saved his Esteghlal team with some brilliant reflexes and, wait for it , superior aerial interception of the ball. The aerial weakness of Rahmati in goal was becoming his Achilles heel in the last few years and a source of embarrassment. Rahmati, to his credit, has remarkably improved in this department and had plenty of time to work on that weakness point and others as he was away from Team Melli.

The match against Persepolis was not the only one that Rahmati has shined in recently. With his performance against Sepahan and earlier in the league season, Rahmati has showed the masses that he is by far the number one goalkeeper in Iran, other keepers fall distant seconds and thirds even those at Team Melli.

However, no matter how many games Rahmati excels in and shows his commanding performance, the Esteghlal goalkeeper apparently has little chance to add to his 76 caps that he won for Team Melli since his debut back in 2004.

One may assume that the current No 1 Team Melli goalkeeper must be much better than Rahmati in all departments to keep Rahmati away. The sad truth is that, Alireza Haghighi who is Carlos Queiroz no. 1 choice for goalkeeper has not even played a single league match with his club Rubin Kazan this season, let alone have a chance to show his worth. Haghighi has been warming the bench for 12 games in the Russian league and several matches in the Europa league including last week’s draw against Liverpool in Anfield.

Surely , there is something odd and logic defying here. Again the sad truth is Yes, it does not make sense in football and technical terms. The problem that prevents Rahmati from claiming the No1 Jersey in Team Melli is his form or ability but past behavior. His petulant behavior and annoyance after being criticized for his weaknesses during the 2011/12 season, lead him to quit Team Melli. Without coordination or consultation with the Team management, Rahmati simply left to the anger and disgust of many and particularly , the head coach. Queiroz declared that as long as he is in charge, there is no place in the team for people who quit or lack discipline. The likes of Rahmati and Aghili who left the team hotel after not being named in the starters list, would never be invited to Team Melli.

Long months later after the dust settled and both sides calmed down with time, Queiroz announced that he is open to selection of Rahmati once again, after the goalkeeper apologized for his wrongdoing and admitted his shortcoming. Despite that, Rahmati was never selected for Team Melli although he was once named in a 40 odd list of players.

Rahmati has returned with a vengeance and this season seems to be his best year. The 32 years old custodian of Esteghlal is the undisputed no 1 Goalkeeper in the league and hence he has the legitimate right to claim Team Melli’s No. 1 jersey on merits, performance and experience.

It remains to be seen if Carlos Queiroz will act professionally by selecting the best goalkeeper for Team Melli based on performance, merits and form. Or remain stubborn, with his vengeance overruling his professional and rational decision making. The Portuguese coach is known to be stern and disciplinarian, which is in fact a good attribute for a coach to deal with many of the belligerent Iranian players, however, the interest of Team Melli, the nation and the fans supersedes any personal grudges. The Fans should not be victimized nor the reputation of Team Melli tarnished by antipathies.

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Data comparisons between Mehdi Rahmati and Alireza Haghighi.

13/10/201513/10/2015

Team Melli tie Japan in an entertaining match.

Team Melli tied Japan 1-1 in the friendly international match played at Azadi stadium on Tuesday..

A small crowd of less than 10,000 fans were in the stadium at kick with a slight increased during the first

Iran was the better team in the first half with Ashkan Dejagah bouncing from his quite disappointing performance against Oman to perform splendidly and turn into the pivotal player. Although Team Melli’s defense line was untouched, the line that suffered badly against Oman, this time a solid performance associated with Japanese lethargy in the first half prevented the visitors from creating any single goal scoring chance against Team Melli.

The many offensive attempts by Iran culminated in several scoring chances the best coming to Sardar Azmoun who lost his bearing at the crucial moment. Instead of guiding his ball into the empty net , the Rostov FC forward misfired the other way.

Ghafuri pulled a muscle midway through the half and his replacement Mehdi Torabi made a real impact. Not only did his gazelle like runs troubled the Japanese, his dribbling on the edge of the box in injury time of the first half resulted in a foul by Maya Yoshida and a penalty.

Ashkan Dejagah failed to convert the penalty as japan keeper Shusaku Nishikawa saved Dejagah’s shot, but Mehdi Torabi was on hand to pounce on the rebound and shoot into the net. That late goal ensured Iran leaves the field one goal up on the disappointing Japanese. Neither of Japan’s stars Honda or Shinji Kagawa performed at a level to talk about in this half.

In the second half, the Japanese stunned the hosts with an early goal by Yoshinori Mutō two minutes into the half. The substitutions by Caoch Vahid Halilhodžić ensured a better running and challenging Japanese team. However, even with Japan increasing the tempo and going for the offensive plan, Team Melli was still the more likely to score and better performing of the two teams.

Ashkan Dejagah continued his fine performance, with Vahid Amiri and Mehdi Torabi giving the team pace and penetration control on the flanks, not to mention and exciting flavor.

In minute 70 , a series of good interplay and quick acceleration by Dejagah ended in him shooting from long-range but the shoot was parried by Japan’s Keeper. The lonely front man was Azmoun who could not react quickly enough to convert that ball into the net.

Pouraliganji came close with a header in the 83th minute while the Japanese had their own number of chances but none that seriously worried Alireza Haghighi in Iran’s goal.

Mehdi Torabi and Maya Yoshida were lucky not to get their marching orders in the match. Both carrying a yellow card, committed bookable fouls which the excellent Omani referee elected not to show.

It was an entertaining match as both teams, playing with no real pressure, performed their best. Iran’s performance was encouraging and miles better than the disappointing draw against Oman.

The 1-1 result was a fair reflection of the match.

27/03/201527/03/2015

Iran downs Copa America Host

By Matthew Rogerson

www.goal.com

Mar 26, 2015 21:12:38

Goals in each half saw Carlos Queiroz’s men record an outstanding friendly win in the clash in Austria

In one of Chile’s final friendlies before they open the South American showpiece against Ecuador in June, Jorge Sampaoli saw his side fall to goals in either half from captain Javad Nekounam and Vahid Amiri.

Carlos Queiroz’s Iran started brightly and were rewarded after 21 minutes when Nekounam converted Andranik Teymourian’s corner.

Sampaoli, who named Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez on the bench, introduced the latter at the break, although Amiri added to Chile’s frustrations when he doubled Iran’s advantage early in the second half.

Brazil are next up for Chile – as the sides meet for the first time since their last-16 World Cup clash – while Iran face Sweden following victory in their first outing since the Asian Cup.

Eduardo Vargas fired over following a smart turn 12 minutes in, after Chile had survived some early Iran pressure.

Masoud Shojaei then went down under a clumsy challenge from Gonzalo Jara, although the referee waved away the half-hearted penalty protests.

Nekounam eventually made Iran’s pressure pay when the skipper bundled home the opener amid slack marking from Rodrigo Millar and questionable goalkeeping from Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo.

The goal sparked Chile into life, with Juan Cornejo flashing a shot wide before the half-hour mark, before Fabian Orellana hit the side-netting from close range.

Mark Gonzalez saw a header beaten away by Alireza Haghighi as Chile piled on the pressure prior to the interval to no avail.

Sampaoli opted to introduce star man Alexis at the interval, but it was Iran who found the target next as Reza Ghoochannejhad latched on to a throughball and picked out Amiri.

The Naft Tehran forward calmly finished from inside the area to put Queiroz’s side firmly in control.

Matias Fernandez almost reduced the deficit with a fierce drive prior to the hour with Jose Fuenzalida angling a strike wide of the far post as Sampaoli’s men continued to knock on the door.

Veteran David Pizarro was brought on to try to find a way back into the game for the South Americans, but Chile found Haghighi in fine form as the goalkeeper smartly kept out Fernandez’s free kick going into the final 20 minutes.

Despite the late pressure, Chile failed to avert a second defeat in eight post-World Cup outings, leaving Sampaoli questions to answer with the Copa clash against Ecuador in Santiago less than three months away.

26/02/2015

The Goalkeeping dilemma.

Any Iranian fan watching the recent AFC Champions league matches would have been alarmed by the lackluster standard of Iranian goalkeepers. Added to the fact that the recent showing of Team Melli matches where goalkeepers performed poorly, such performances does not instill much confidence in the custodians who form the last frontier of any ambitious team challenging for championships and trophies.

The beautiful free flowing passing game of Naft Tehran deserved much better than the 2-1 defeat in Uzbekistan, as the Persian Gulf League leader fell victim to two horrible and amateurish errors by their goalkeeper Alireza Biranvand which cost them two goals and a defeat, after leading 1-0.

Nearly identical scenario was repeated a day later again in Uzbekistan as Tractorsazi was leading 1-0 before two blunders by their goalkeeper allowed the Uzbeks to win the match 2-1. The culprit goalkeeper was Hamed Lak. His edgy performance was a contributing factor in this defeat.

Persepolis , whose goalkeeper Sasha Makani is very well known for his calamitous performances was spared its blushes when they defeated Lekhwiya of Qatar 3-0 against all the odds. The Qatari league leader with some expensive star players were simply having a day off as Makani was hardly tested.

The common dominator of all these goalkeepers is that Carlos Queiroz has picked the above mentioned goalkeeper for Team Melli at different stages and competitions. Which , for all practical terms and purposes , means they are the best keepers in Iran. Biranvand is still in the list and was part of the last squad in the AFC Cup 2015 in Australia while Makani and Lak have only been recently replaced by Haghighi and Frouzan.

Haghighi , the surprise pick of the obstinate Portuguese coach , was the main goalkeeper for both the World Cup and Asian Cup. Not surprisingly, his performances have left a lot to be desired. The fans need to be thankful for the outright defensive game plan of Queiroz that has protected Haghighi in goal from being bombarded in both tournaments. However, when the team changed plans and needed to win by playing more offensively , Haghighi and his defense were truly exposed and conceded 6 goals in the last two matches of the two major competitions. 3 goals against Bosnia in the World Cup and three against Iraq in the quarter finals of Asian Cup. To make matters worse, Alireza Haghighi failed to save any penalty kick in the penalty shootout as Iran was knocked out from the Asian Cup.

All this was happening when two of the most experienced goalkeeper in Iran, Mehdi Rahmati and Rahman Ahmadi , were enjoying a holiday back home as Queiroz did not seem to believe in their abilities nor their skills.

Queiroz issue with Rahmati and some other players is a problem that is quite clearly undermining Team Melli. His personal antipathies against certain staff and players like Khalatbary , Mojtaba Jabbari, Hadi Aghili , Majid Saleh , Ali Karimi amongst many others are leaving the team handicapped and nothing is more evident than in between the three posts where the absence of the experienced Rahmati was felt.

Queiroz is only a part of the entire problem as Iran’s football system seems to have a distinct lack of ability to produce quality goalkeepers. It is also evident that the goalkeeping coaches are not of a high caliber at clubs and junior teams’ levels.

Iran’s goalkeeping problem is not new either. For more than a decade, Iran has been suffering from lack of quality goalkeepers. Ebrahim Mirzapour and his generation of keepers did not enhance the reputations of Iranian keepers, before Rahmati came into the scene. However, even Rahmati, arguably still the best keeper in Iran (not according to Queiroz, of course) , had difficulties like poor handling of aerial balls which marred his good records.

While goalkeeping is the least popular of posts amongst young players and good keepers are always in demand, the lack of production of quality keepers which requires a careful study and planning from the root level , could very well be a serious problem in the near future for Team Melli.

19/01/2015

Iran shows players red card after selfies with female fans

PUBLISHED: JANUARY 19, 2015 05:39 PM

Iran fans pose for pictures before the start of their Asian Cup Group C match against UAE at the Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane January 19, 2015.

BRISBANE, Jan 19 — Iran’s footballers have been warned they could face punishment if they take “selfie” pictures with female fans who have turned out in large numbers at the Asian Cup.

The head of the Iranian Football Federation’s moral committee said players risked being used as a “political tool” if snapped with women fans.

Women are banned from attending men’s sports events in the Islamic republic but they have flocked to see Iran’s games at the Asian Cup in Australia.

Ali Akbar Mohamedzade, head of the moral committee of the Iranian Football Federation, issued the warning last week as photos of players with women fans circulated on social media.

“National team players should be aware that they won’t be used as a political tool so that those who take pictures with them don’t use these photos against the players,” Iran’s Shahrvand newspaper quoted him as saying.

“So according to this they should not take photos with everyone. If the players don’t respect this, we will be obliged to take action.”

No detail was given on what punishment the players might face. Enthusiastic male and female fans of Iran, many wearing the team shirt, have been a feature of the Asian Cup.

The scenes contrast with the situation in Iran, where women are banned from men’s sports events on moral grounds.

Iran’s Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz has carefully steered clear of any controversy, giving a firm “no comment” when asked about the presence of women fans.

One female fan Tweeted pictures of goalkeeper Ali Reza Haghighi and midfielder Karim Ansari Fard posing with women, while another photo shows a woman holding an Iranian flag inscribed with a marriage proposal to Haghighi.

Three-time champions Iran are already through to the quarter-finals. Their games have been noisily supported with thousands of fans, some banging drums and blowing trumpets.

“We are monitoring what is happening in Australia, we haven’t sent any representative to Australia,” Mohamedzade was quoted as saying. — AFP

12/01/2015

Queiroz fuming despite Asian Cup win over Bahrain

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz let rip at Bahrain for their “dangerous” tackling after his side won a tempestuous Asian Cup clash 2-0 on Sunday.

The Portuguese accused Australian referee Ben Williams of failing to control the Group C match in Melbourne.

“I was not happy because after nine, 10, 12 fouls, stopping the game systematically. The referee must take action,” Queiroz said.

“There were some aerial duels where especially their No 12 [Faouzi Aaish] elbowed my players and, as you know, the elbow is very dangerous.”

Ehsan Hajsafi’s volley in first-half stoppage time lit the touchpaper for Iran,who are seeking to end a 39-year wait for a fourth Asian Cup title, before Masoud Shojaei added a second in the 71st minute to end Bahrain’s resistance. But Queiroz, who had two spells as Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Old Trafford, was furious at what he said was a lack of consistency from referee Williams.

“For a referee so quick to show a yellow card when one of my players didn’t hear the whistle, I was completely surprised that when he sees Bahrain’s negative game, after 10 fouls in a row, he didn’t give them a single yellow,” the former Portugal and Real Madrid coach said.

Asia’s top-ranked side, Iran almost opened the scoring after 20 minutes when the dangerous Ashkan Dejagah forced a smart stop from Sayed Abbas in the Bahrain goal. But Bahrain had already served notice that they were not about to simply roll over as their bulldozing Nigerian-born striker Jaycee Okwunwanne blazed wide during the frenetic early skirmishes.

Sayed Shubbar then squandered a golden opportunity by heading over as Bahrain threatened to capitalise on a sluggish start from Iran.

It was then Hajsafi who, with almost the last kick of the first half, expertly trapped a looping clearance with his left foot and instantaneously smashed it past Abbas with the outside of his right boot from just outside the box.

“It was a brilliant, fantastic goal,” Queiroz said. “A goal to grace any stadium in the world. Bahrain made it difficult for us, but we deserved to win and should have scored more goals.”

Tempers flared in the second half when Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi barged into Aaish, Bahrain’s playmaker, who appeared to block off the keeper as he attempted a quick throw.

Moments later, Shojaei popped up to steer a right-footed shot just inside the post from another corner to trigger wild celebrations from a crowd of 17,000.

“You saw what happened with the goalkeeper,” Queiroz said. “He tried for a quick transition and the No 12 stopped him.

“The laws of the game are clear – an elbow is a yellow card, no doubt about that.”

Queiroz and Markar Aghajanian last minutes instructions.

11/01/201511/01/2015

Iran vs. Bahrain match reports.

Iran floor Bahrain in Asian Cup thriller
Published: 11 January 2015

Ehsan Hajsafi struck with a sumptuous volley in first-half stoppage time to propel Iran to a 2-0 victory over Bahrain in a tempestuous Asian Cup dust-up today.

Iran, seeking to end a 39-year wait for a fourth title, effectively sealed the points in their Group C opener when Masoud Shojaei added a second in the 71st minute to end Bahrain’s brave resistance in Melbourne.

Asia’s top-ranked side, Iran almost opened the scoring after 20 minutes when the dangerous Ashkan Dejagah forced a smart stop from Sayed Abbas in the Bahrain goal.

But Bahrain had already served notice that they were not about to simply roll over as their bulldozing Nigerian-born striker Jaycee Okwunwanne blazed just wide during the frenetic early skirmishes.
Sayed Shubbar then squandered a golden opportunity by heading over as Bahrain threatened to capitalise on a sluggish start from highly fancied Iran.

However, Hajsafi produced a moment of magic with almost the last kick of the first half, expertly trapping a looping clearance with his left foot before instantaneously smashing it past Abbas with the outside of his right boot from just outside the box.

Reza Ghoochannejhad appeared to be incorrectly flagged for offside for a second time when through on goal shortly after the interval, before Okwunwanne almost emulated Hajsafi with a ferocious drive that Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi did brilliantly to keep out.

Tempers flared when Haghighi barged into Faouzi Aaish, Bahrain’s waspish playermaker with a menacing-looking mohican who was a thorn in Iran’s side the entire game.

But moments later Shojaei popped up to steer a right-foot shot just inside the post from another corner to trigger wild celebrations from a crowd of 17,000 – most noisily supporting Team Melli.

Iran’s Asian Cup drought dates back to 1976, when they won the third of three successive titles.

Earlier, the United Arab Emirates laid down a marker by thrashing Qatar 4-1 to go top of the group on goal difference. – AFP, January 11, 2015.

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11 January 2015

Match video highlights

Melbourne: Ehsan Hajsafi scored an early contender for goal of the tournament as Iran made the perfect start to their bid to finally land a record-equalling fourth AFC Asian Cup title after posting a hard-fought 2-0 win over Bahrain in Group C on Sunday.

Bahrain had made a lively start to the contest, but after Iran improved as the half progressed, Hajsafi’s eye-catching strike opened the scoring for Team Melli in first half stoppage time.

And with Masoud Shojaei adding a second with 19 minutes remaining, 1968, 1972 and 1976 winners Iran joined the United Arab Emirates at the top of the Group C table after the opening round of fixtures following their earlier 4-1 win over Gulf Cup champions Qatar in Canberra.

Despite Iran’s supporters creating an electric atmosphere at a blustery Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Bahrain enjoyed the best of the early chances as Ismail Abdullatif tested goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi after just six minutes before strike partner Jaycee John acrobatically directed a back post volley wide two minutes later.

And Iran received a huge let off after 16 minutes as Sami Al Husaini’s chipped ball forward found Sayed Dhiya racing into the penalty area, but after beating a static offside trap, the midfielder headed over with only Haghighi to beat.

Iran, though, were presented with a golden opportunity to open the scoring four minutes later as Ashkan Dejagah raced in behind the Bahrain defence only for goalkeeper Sayed Mohamed Jaffar to crucially smoother his attempted chipped effort just outside the six-yard area.

But there was little Jaffar could do in first half stoppage time as Sepahan’s Hajsafi superbly found the top corner from the edge of the penalty area to the delight of the majority of the 18,000 crowd after taking one touch to control the ball after Andranik Teymourian’s corner had been punched clear by the Bahrain goalkeeper.

And Jaffar remained the busier of the two goalkeepers at the start of the second half as the Bahrain custodian gathered Reza Ghoochannejhad’s well-struck dipping shot from the edge of the area at the second time of asking four minutes after the break.

Iran goalkeeper Haghighi, though, had to be on his toes nine minutes later to beat away a rasping effort from Bahrain striker Jaycee John from underneath his crossbar.

But Bahrain’s hopes of a comeback were all put ended as Iran took full advantage with 19 minutes remaining as Teymourian’s corner found its way to Shojaei close to the penalty spot, and the midfielder saw his scuffed effort creep into the bottom corner despite a despairing dive from Jaffar.

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