Ten-man Saipa, Fulad beat pacesetter Zob, helter-skelter Persepolis

MNA – Saipa and Fulad reduced to 10 men but they overcame leader Zob Ahan and aimless Persepolis 1-0 in the sixth week of the fifth Iran Pro League Monday.
Hamid-Reza Rajabi handed table-topper Zob Ahan the first defeat in Fuladshahr Stadium in central city of Isfahan as he scored the sole goal of the match one minute before the interval.

The visiting Saipa was forced to play the last 34 minutes with 10 men when Alireza Abbasfard received his marching orders from the referee Saeed Bat’haii.

Later in the day holder Fulad sank troubled Persepolis, giving the confused reds the second loss in Takhti Stadium in Abadan.

The southerners fought back against the expulsion of Siamak Sarlak, who was sent off for his second bookable offense on 43 minutes, grabbing the winner six minutes into the second half.

Goalkeeping blunder by Mohammad Mohammadi let Nader Ahmadi find the net in a goalmouth melee.

The visitor having no game plan crammed into Fulad’s box a host of times but it never found the finishing touch.

Persepolis nosedives to 14th spot with meager five points and one match in hand and Fulad lies in the seventh place on seven points.

Veteran trainer and technical manager Ali Parvin, who had vowed to reshuffle Persepolis technical cadre if it would lose the away match, is now in a tight corner.

In Monday’s other game, Saba Battery canceled out Sepahan’s early goal to stun the visitor 3-1 in Shahid Derakhshan Stadium in Sabashahr.

Sepahan took the lead in the second minute when Seyyed Mehdi Seyyed Salehi celebrated his opener but national and Saba skipper Ali Daei gatecrashed their party, hitting his double on 33 and 53 minutes.

The home team forced Sepahan to take the ball out of the net in the 55th minute as Saeed Daqiqi struck the third.

Pas also saw off the black-shirted Abu Moslem 2-0 in Shahid Dastgerdi Stadium, west of Tehran.

Striker Mohsen Bayatinia put the home side ahead in the 24th minute and national midfielder Javad Nekunam made it 2-0 on 90 minutes.

The derby in Hafezieh Stadium in Shiraz between Fajr-e Sepassi and Barq ended nil-nil.