Afshin Afshar (lastkick.com) – Match Day 2 of the of the AFC Champions League starts tomorrow (Tuesday) when Esteghlal and Zob-Ahan will play Al-Jazira (UAE) and Al-Ittihad (KSA) respectively. Then on Wednesday Mes will visit Al-Hilal (KSA) and Sepahan will host Al-Ain (UAE). 

Esteghlal vs. Al-Jazira 

Esteghlal are in a very good position to make a statement about their claim on a passage to the next round. The Tehran giants have been playing better football as of late although they may not have all the points to show for it. Al-Jazira are a good team, but they certainly lack Esteghlal’s pedigree and will be hard pressed playing in what will likely be a near capacity crowed in Azadi Stadium. 
 

Al-Ittihad vs. Zob-Ahan  

Al-Ittihad are one of the most honored teams in the region. They know how to win, and above all they know how to win at home. Zob-Ahan face a tall task.  The news out of the Zob-Ahan camp is that they are finding Jeddah heat somewhat of an inconvenience.
 

Al-Hialal vs. Mes of kerman 

With two Asian Champions League, Cup Winners Cup, and Super Cup titles each under their built, the Saudi club will be on familiar grounds at home, while new comers Mes will be playing in their only second Asian match. Mes should look at this as a learning experience.  
 

Sepahan vs. Al-Ain 

Although Al-Ain have won the title once in 2002-03 they will not be able to intimidate an experienced Sepahan on their home turf. Playing in front of their own fans, Sepahan will be eager to make up for the two points they let slip away in Match Day 1.

During the Saturday match between Steel of Azin and Saipa, Azin’s international midfielder Ali Karimi got into an ugly altercation with opposing players Majid Ayubi and amin Manouchehri and was subsequently ejected from the match.

He was later transferred to the hospital for a rib injury in a taxicab.

Afshin Afshar (lastkick.com) – The race for the Iranian Professional League title just got a bit more exciting. After the three in the chasing pack won their matches yesterday, the leaders Sepahan stumbled in their attempt to keep them at a safe distance. To make even more interesting, the fifth place Steel of Azin also made a statement about their chances at the title in a fiery match against Saipa.

Tractor-Sazi 1 – 1 Sepahan 

Playing in front of 50,000 enthusiastic home fans Tractor Makers caught Sepahan off the wrong foot early in the game with a well executed counterattack and Farhad Kheirkhah played hero with a well placed strike. However, ten minutes into the second half the leaders struck back through a header by Ibrahim Toure. Both sides had their share of chances, but failed to capitalize. The matched ended a 1-1 draw. 

Sepahan’s draw today combined with a Zob-Ahan win yesterday cut their lead to four points with six matches left.

Saba 0 – 1 Rah-Ahan 

In very poorly attended match in Qom visitors Rah-Ahan were awarded a penalty kick on 54th minute after Saba goalkeeper Mehdi Vaezi brought down striker Farid Abedi in a one-on-one situation. Vaezi was ejected from the game and Milad Zanidpour converted for the visitors from the spot. 

Saba Manager Abbas Moradi and Assistant Coach Abdollah Veisi were also tossed from the sidelines for protesting referee’s decisions.

Steel of Azin 4 – 3 Saipa 

In an eventful and seesaw match at home Steel of Azin managed to secure all three points and keep themselves, at least mathematically, in the race for the title. 

Visitors Saipa took an early lead through Amin Manouchehri, only a few minutes later midfielder Mehdi Mahdavikia pulled level for Azin, and Ali Karimi’s double, one from the spot, put gave them a two goal advantage before the half. Ali karimi would not be around for the second half as he and Saipa’s Majid Ayubi were both ejected before the break. Karimi was later taken to hospital for what seemed to be a cracked rib. 

Less than twenty minutes after the restart Morteza Ahmadi cut Azin’s lead to half, and a few short minutes later Amin Manouchehri converted from the spot to level the score. But Azin were not to be denied on this day, and Mohammad Mohammadi gave them the lead shortly after. 

Click here for current standings.

At some point during the match Saipa Coach Mohammad Mayelikohan took his team off the field in protest to what he deemed to be biased refereeing. We are sure to hear more about this match in the days that will follow.

Afshin Afshar (lastkick.com) – Round 28 of the Iranian Professional League kicked off today. On day one of this round there were no surprises. The chasing pack of Zob-Ahan, Perspolis, and Esteghlal won their matches to keep the pressure on leaders Sepahan that will host Tractor-Sazi in Isfahan tomorrow. 

Here is a recap of the matches that were completed today:

Esteghlal 2 – 0 Esteghlal of Ahvaz 

Defender Amir-Hossein Sadeghi opened the score for Esteghlal to give the Big Blue the lead over their Southern namesakes. Mehdi Seyyed-Salehi doubled the lead in the opening minutes of the second half and Tehran boys never had to look back after that.

Abu-Moslem 2 – 1 Malavan 

In Mashad hosts Abu-Moslem took the lead ten minutes in thanks to a goal by Brazilian Geraldo Dos Santos Junior or Gelson, but only two minutes later the visitors leveled through Hadi Azizi. With less than ten minutes to go, Reza Nasehi put Abu-Moslem ahead for good. Despite the three points, Abu-Moslem remains dead last in the table with 24 points. Visitors Malavan sit comfortably in mid-table.

Pas 2 – 2 Paykan 

In Hamadan visitors Paykan took a two goal lead thanks to second half goals by Brazilian Luiz Carlos Nascimento Junior and Saeid Daghighi. But with two minutes left of regulation Hadi Asghari pulled one back for Pas and five minutes into extra time referee Alborz Hajipour granted the hosts a penalty kick which Yadollah Akbari converted.

Mes 0 – 0 Moghavemat 

After two successive and impressive victories in an AFC Champions League and Hazfi Cup matches, Mes of Kerman went back to their old ways and failed to get full points at home against a struggling Moghavemat. The single point was not enough to pull them above the drop zone. They now sit in the sixteenth spot on the table.

Zob-Ahan 1 – 0 Shahin 

Runner ups Zob-Ahan had to leave it late at home against visitors Shahin of Bushehr. The match was a nil-nil draw until Mohammad Hosseini scored the hosts’ winning goal five minutes into the extra time.

Perspolis 1 – 0 Foolad 

In the final game of Day 1 veteran striker Mohsen Khalili headed in the winning goal for Perspolis of Tehran giving them a 1-0 victory over visitors Foolad of Khuzestan. The match took place in Tehran’s Azadi stadium and 45,000 fans were in attendance.

TEHRAN, March 3 (Reuters) - Javad Nekounam scored a superb 89th-minute header as Iran beat Thailand 1-0 on Wednesday to deny Bryan Robson’s team a place at next year’s Asian Cup finals.

Thailand missed out for the first time in 22 years, making it a miserable start to former England and Manchester United captain Robson’s international coaching career.

Having failed to make an impression since taking over from compatriot Peter Reid in October it is uncertain whether Robson, who is under contract for four years, will still be in charge for the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

With Group E winners Iran already through to the Asian Cup finals in Qatar, Jordan took second spot with a 2-1 win over bottom team Singapore.

Thailand, who finished third, struggled to make headway against a full-strength Iranian side lifted by a sparse but vociferous crowd at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

Former Asian player of the year Ali Karimi was instrumental in most of Iran’s attacks and came close to scoring several times, teaming up with Ehsan Hajisafi and Nekounam to heap the pressure on the visitors.

News of a Singaporean equaliser in the other group match led to a brief rally by the Thais but that was short-lived when Jordan restored their lead and Iran regained control with a torrent of attacks that led to Nekounam’s decisive header.

(Reporting by Martin Petty in Bangkok, editing by Tony Jimenez. To comment on this story, e-mail: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

The first goal was definitely offside, but the second goal was a beauty.

Click here to read the match report.

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Afshin Afshar (lastkick.com) – Poor Afshin Ghotbi cannot get a break from his critics. Since announcing his 25 man roster in advance of the AFC Asian Cup clash with Thailand, the coach has been criticized and hammered not only by reporters and media analysts, but also by every other top league coach who’s got a couple of minutes of interview time.

Most of these coaches criticize Ghotbi for not picking more players from their respective clubs. They argue that their players “deserve” to be capped, but were not due to Ghotbi’s “biased” selection criteria and process.
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