F.A. - MANAMA, Iran and Bahrain had to be content with a point a piece as the Asian Cup semi-finalists played out an uninspiring goalless draw in their opening Group B match of the Final Round of Asian qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup on Wednesday.

The last time the two sides met in Manama was during the final round of qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup and it was a tempestuous and controversial encounter which finished 3-1 to Bahrain, and consigned Iran to the play-offs

Iran gained a modicum of revenge with a 4-2 win in the 2004 Asian Cup third place play-off and with ten goals, a couple of sendings off and numerous talking points the stage was set for a potential classic.

However, the game failed to live up to its promise.

Iran had the better of a somewhat disappointing first half with Vahid Hashemian testing Bahrain goalkeeper Ali Hassan in the third minute and Javad Nekounam firing a scorching 25-yard drive wide just before the interval.

Between these two efforts, the best of the half for the visitors, Iran only fleetingly showed glimpses of why they are considered one of the best teams in the continent.

In the 23rd minute nimble footwork from Ali Karimi set the reigning Asian footballer of the year charging towards the Bahrain penalty until he was cynically tripped by Talal Yusuf.

To the consternation of the Iranians, referee Mohammed Salleh Subkhiddin refused to book the Bahrain skipper and the Malaysia whistleblower further incensed the three-time Asian champions when he failed to spot that Fereydoon Zandi’s free-kick appeared to have deflected off the wall for a corner.

Mohammed Hubail’s cutback across the goalmouth aside, Bahrain’s best chance came from Iranian’s failure to deal properly with a 28th minute corner.

The eccentric Ebrahim Mirzapour charged out to meet Talal Yusuf’s flag kick but failed to connect properly. With the Iran keeper stranded near the edge of the box, an Iranian defender’s attempted clearance ricocheted off a Bahrain player resulting in the Foulad number one scampering back to prevent the ball crossing the line.

Mirzapour displayed the better side of his goalkeeping when he acrobatically palmed Abdulla Marzooq’s 60th minute header to safety after the lanky defender got on the end of Duaij Nasser’s cross.

Bahrain had the upper hand for most of the second period but despite some enterprising breaks from the back didn’t really carve out another opportunity of note until the 81st minute, when Mohammed Hubail grazed the side netting with a low drive.

With two minutes left to play Bahrain won a free-kick after 85th minute substitute Eman Mobali crudely up ended Mohammed Salmeen but the home side failed to make the most of their opportunity as the match, which failed to live up to its hype, petered out.

Iran will be looking for their first win of the campaign when they take on Asian champions Japan in Tehran on March 25, while Bahrain face a daunting trip to Pyongyang for a meeting with DPR Korea on the same day.