Iranian soccerclub Zob Ahan has defeated Esteghlal Tehran in the penalty shootout to win the country's knockout competition known asHazfi Cup.
The highly competitivefinal of the games was held atthe 15,000-seater Nafto GasArvandan Stadium in the southwestern port cityof Khorramshahr withboth teams stayingneckandneck throughout the match.
Zob Ahan soccer players were first to build up an attack.Just seven minutes into the game, the Isfahan-based teamtook advantage of a marvelous opportunity to net the opener. However, striker Danial Esmaeilifar simply squandered the chance and shotincheswide of the target.
Zob Ahan players found the net against througha corner and celebrated in the 10th minute, but the effortwasdisallowedby 38-year-old referee Alireza Faghanias the ball had crossed thetouch line.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"]
This photo shows a view of Irans Hazfi Cup final match between Zob Ahan (players in white) and Esteghlal Tehran football clubs at Nafto Gas Arvandan Stadium, Khorramshahr, southwestern Iran, on May 29, 2016. ( Mehr news agency)[/caption]Zob Ahan forward Morteza Tabrizi mounted a counter-attack five minutes later and sought to dribble the ball past Esteghlal defender Hanif Omranzadeh,who aggressively brought him down and crushed his hopesof scoring the opener.
Tabrizi had to be taken off the pitch in the 18th minute since he could not resist the agonizing pain he was suffering from. Mohammad Reza Hosseini took his place.
In the 20th minute, Zob Ahan forward Danial Esmaeilifar penetrated Esteglal's crowdeddefense, and struck a shot that kissed the Blues net after having hit goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmatis head.
Esteghlalthen sought to level thescore, and had plenty of chances which they simply missed.
In the 37th minute, Zob Ahan Captain Mehdi Rajabzadehunleashed a shot that hit an Esteghlal defender, and ricocheted backinto the field.
The rest of the first half was a particularly drab affair as both teams failed to produceany more goals.
Esteghlal soccer players built uppressureon their opponents goalpost after the break, and went close to score theequalizer but to no avail.
They were awarded a penalty for a foul on midfielder Yaghoub Karimi in the box in the 56th minute.
Midfielder Omid Ebrahimi made no mistake from the spot and sent Zob Ahan keeper Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri the wrong way to make it 1-1.
The game went to penalties after extra-time finished on 1-1, and Zob Ahan beat Esteghlal Tehran 5-4 in the penalty shootout to be crownedthe champions of the Hazfi Cup for the fourth time.
By Press TV
