4/30/2006
Afshin Afshar, lastkick.com

Perspolis FC continued their slow but steady revival under Dutch coaching duo of Arie Haan and Theo De Jong on Saturday when they soundly defeated Malavan of Anzali in the quarterfinals of the Iranian Hazfi Cup.

The game was played in Perspolis strong hold, Tehran’s Azadi stadium, in front of more than 40,000 of their diehard fans who hope to see their beloved Reds make it to Asia next year, along with Tehran rivals Esteghlal, by winning the Cup.

Perspolis started the game very strongly and put a lot of pressure on their Northern visitors, but Malavan withstood everything that was thrown at them.

The Reds, however, were not to be denied. They were finally rewarded near the end of the half when Kazemian setup Pejman Nouri for the lead.

Early in the second half kazemian wasted a golden opportunity to double the lead, but Mehrzad Madanchi took full advantage of his and tapped in an easy one that was nicely setup by Robert Saha.

Perspolis fans’ joy did not last long as Maziar Zare pulled one back for Malavan only two minutes later.

The goal energized Malavan and they increased the pressure on Perspolis. But the Reds held firm waiting for counter attacking opportunities.

With a few minutes left in the game they got their way. Madanchi received the ball on top of the key and let it rip. His shot hit the upright and bounced into Malavan net for a 3:1 Perspolis victory.

Perspolis will now face Nojhan of Sari in the semifinals.