Iran beats Bahrain, UAE drubs Qatar 4-1
Print Edition
EHSAN Hajsafi and Masoud Shojaei scored late in each half to give Iran a 2-0 win over a determined Bahrain in their opening match of the Asian Cup in Melbourne yesterday.
In a contest that started at a frenetic pace with plenty of chances for each side, Hajsafi finally made the breakthrough for Iran in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
Hajsafi gathered an attempted clearance from an Andranik Teymourian corner to fire the ball from just outside the area over the Bahrain defense and the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Sayed Mohamed Abbas.
Iran doubled its lead in the 71st minute when Masoud collected a Teymourian cross and guided the ball past the near post. Iran takes a share of first place in Group C with the United Arab Emirates with a win each.
Earlier, Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout scored two goals each as the UAE took advantage of a series of goalkeeping errors to beat Qatar 4-1 in the Group C opener in Canberra.
Iran had three goals called back for offside, while Reza Ghoochannejhad came close to scoring early in the second half when he forced a scrambling save from Abbas with a slow shot from inside the box toward the left corner of the goal.
Bahrain’s best chance of the second half came when Teymourian was called for tripping Faouzi Aaish, but Husain Baba Mohamed’s free-kick cleared the wall only to be easily saved by Iran ‘keeper Alireza Haghighi.
In Canberra, Qatar goalkeeper Qasem Burhan was at least partially responsible for three goals in a blundering opener for the 2014 Gulf Cup champions.
It was Qatar, however, which took the lead midway through the first half. Majed Naser blocked an initial shot from Mohammed Muntari but Khalfan Ibrahim, positioned on the edge of the area, chested the ball down and lobbed it back beautifully over the retreating head of the UAE goalkeeper.
The UAE equalized nine minutes before the break when Qasem spilled a cross and, after a scramble in a crowded area, a defensive goal-line clearance from a Khalil header bounced off the striker’s chest and into the net.
Khalil’s free-kick early in the second half deceived Qasem and bounced into the far corner of the Qatari goal. Mabkhout then scored twice, ensuring the UAE scored four goals in an Asian Cup game for the first time.
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