Iran 2, Ecuador 1

By KEN PETERS
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Cheered by a large, loud contingent of fans, many wearing green, white and red face paint and waving Iranian flags, Iran's soccer team continued its historic U.S. tour with a 2-1 victory Wednesday night over Ecuador.

Many of the estimated 25,000 Iranian-Americans in the crowd of some 35,000 at the Coliseum stood and chanted for much of the game, and erupted in cheers when Ali Daei scored in the first half and Ali Mosavi made it 2-0 in the second.

Iran plays the United States on Sunday at the Rose Bowl in a rematch of their 1998 World Cup meeting in France, when the Iranians upset the Americans 2-1. Iran began its U.S. tour last weekend in San Jose, Calif., losing its first match on American soil 2-1 to Mexico.

On Wednesday, Iran held on to win after Ecuador's Moises Candelario scored off an indirect kick in the box in the 88th minute. Daei, who also had Iran's lone goal against Mexico, opened the scoring against Ecuador in the 27th minute. Mosavi extended the lead with his goal in the 68th minute.

After Iran had two apparent goals wiped out by offside calls, Daei knocked in a header to give his team the lead. Mohammad Navazi set up the score with a curling cross from the right wing. Daei, in perfect position just to the right of the center of the box, leaped, twisted his head and put the ball into the left side of the net, just over the outstretched hands of goalie Edwin Villafuerte.

Navazi got behind the defence and kicked the ball into the net in the eighth minute, but he was just offside when he took a pass, so the goal did not stand. In the 13th minute, Daei had an apparent score wiped out when he was flagged for being behind a step behind the defenders. Morass's goal came when, timing his charge to the goal so he was not offside, he got a step on the defence, trapped a long free kick by Navazi in the box and beat the goalie with a left-footed drive.

Iran's soccer team is the second to tour the United States since the hostage crisis that began in 1979. Militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran then and held 52 Americans for 444 days. An Iranian wrestling team visited the United States in 1998.

In the first match of a doubleheader at the Coliseum, Daniel scored in the 52nd minute as Mexico's Under-23 team tied Guatemala's national team 1-1. Guatemala captain Juan Carols Platt had put his team in front when he scored in the 16th minute.

 Wed Jan 12,  2000 PT