4/29/2006
Afshin Afshar, lastkick.com

Sepahan of Isfahan defeated Tractor-Sazi of Tabriz in the quarterfinals of the Hazfi Cup by a single goal to gain a spot in the semifinals.

The Isfahan side took the lead in the first half when Mohammad Nouri netted a poor clearance by Tractor-Sazi’s goalkeeper Kazem Farhani.

The sequence had started with a well placed corner taken by Sepahan’s Rasoul Khatibi which found Mohsen Bengar whose header Farhani failed to safely clear.

Tractor-Sazi tried very hard in the second half to level the game, but a solid Masoud Hemami in Sepahan’s goal robbed them of a number of good opportunities.

Sepahan were unlucky to not double their lead with one minute left when substitute Abbas Aghaei’s free kick hit the post.

The victory places the 2003-04 Hazfi Cup winners against last year’s winners Saba Battery in the semifinals.

The other semifinal match up will be determined on Saturday when Perspolis takes the field against Malavan of Anzali. The winner of this quarterfinal match will face Nojhan of Sari who qualified by default when league champions Esteghlal pulled out of the competition.