Bahrain and Iran share points [VIDEO]

PFDC – MANAMA, Thanks to an extra time goal by Mojtaba Jabbari, Iran remain undefeated in Group E while the Persian Gulf islanders Bahrain have to be satisfied with a 1-1 draw in World Cup qualification on Friday, at the national stadium in Manama.


Once again both teams had to deal with a long absentee list and did not have their main full squad available. 
Iranian coach Carlos Queiroz missed injured popular playmaker Ali Karimi, as well as Pejman Nouri and Khosro Heydari, who were replaced by the Perspolis duo Mohammad Nouri and Hossein Badamaki, alongside the “long time no see” ambitious Hossein Kaebi in the roster.


None of them were given any playing time though as Mahini and Rezaei, along with Ansarifard started in place of Heydari, Meydavoudi and Ghazi from previous match. Jabbari as expected again was chosen to replace Karimi.


Peter Taylor on the other side had to worry because of the suspended Rashed Al Hooti and injured skipper Mohammed Salmeen, making an already difficult task even harder.


Emotionless and inconsistent first half


Bahrain entered the pitch driven by a desire for revenge due to the huge defeat in Tehran, while Iran were looking for answering all recent caused high hopes by the fans and media. However contrary to all expectations, the match started very slow and was interrupted several times, which additionally was backed by the few number of people in the stadium.


Especially the first minutes were marked by many wrong and aimless passes on both sides, but overall it was Team Melli who controlled the game and tried to constantly build up an attack with one touch football, while Bahrain oddly were looking for counter-attacks most of the time.


The first decent chance was created after a cross by Mahini on the right side, but Ansarifard’s header went wide. Bahrain’s coach sensed a danger which resulted to an early substitution after 26 minutes already.


A nice through pass by Rezaei in minute 31 almost caused a one-on-one situation for Khalatbari, but the keeper was faster and denied the Al Gharafa forward.


Despite Bahrain’s need for three points and Iran’s efforts, no further chances were created that could have broken the deadlock. A fan managed to get on the field, one of the few noteworthy highlights, which says a lot about the quality of the game.


Bahrain tried to beat the Iranian defense through individual skills and possible fouls by Iran, looking for free-kicks to score. Surprisingly and against the flow of the match, this plan paid-off when Rahmati nicely saved a free-kick but the defenders failed to clear the ball. A pass right in front of the goal was enough for Mahmoud Al Ajmi to score and create a 1-0 lead for the home side in the last minutes of the first half.


Improvement and a more than deserved goal


Queiroz, obviously disappointed, used the half-time break successfully to send his players with new power on the field to come back after being down and prove that the previous wins were no fluke.


Iran put more pressure on the opponent and seemed to be far more dangerous than in the first half. Already in minute 53, a beautiful Nekounam free-kick was saved, but the attacks continued and the Iranian players were hungry for the equalizer.

Still, Queiroz did not seem to be happy enough and subbed out Ansarifard and Khalatbari at once in minute 60, to replace them with Ghazi and Kazemian.


It was the same Ghazi who could have achieved the required goal with a header after a fine cross by Rezaei, but again it was Sayad Mohammed who saved Bahrain.


Iran as often lacked finishing and even Teymourian, Nekounam as well as the substitute Meydavoudi, known for their great shooting skills, were not precise enough.


Last Chance


The five minutes extra time given by the referee increased the hopes of Team Melli and finally the much deserved equalizer occurred.


Nekounam crossed the ball into the box and the fighting Ghazi managed to head the ball which hit the cross bar at first but Esteghlal’s in top form playmaker Jabbari converted the rebound to save Iran from an undeserved narrow defeat.


At the first look this might look like a disappointing result for millions of Iranian fans, as many expected to see a comfortable win after the historic 6-0 at home, but in reality this can be a good lesson for the team to always stay concentrated and never underestimate their opponent. The last minute goal will certainly boost the confidence of the players and as well fans.


Next task for Queiroz’ men is a trip to Jakarta to face Indonesia on November 15. On the final matchday in February, Iran will host Qatar.

Bahrain – Iran 1-1 (1-0)

World Cup qualification, Group E, national stadium, Manama



Goals:

1-0 Mahmoud Al Ajmi (’45+)

1-1 Mojtaba Jabbari (90’+ / assist by Mohammad Ghazi)

Iran: Rahmati – Mahini, Aghily, Hosseini, Pouladi – Teymourian, Nekounam, Jabbari – Rezaei (78′ Meydavoudi), Ansarifard (61′ Ghazi)

, Khalatbari (61′ Kazemian)

Iranian players booked: Mahini