Iran’s Omid Team defeated Kuwait Olympic team 1-0 in a friendly match played in Kuwait today (Thursday)
The only goal of the match was scored by Behnam Barzay from a spot kick  after Arsalan Motahari was fouled in the box in the 40th minute of the match..

The result and the performance of Omid Team revived the unsavory events of the Omid Team in Asian Games 2014

Although Iran’s controlled the match from the onset they failed to translate it into goals against a Kuwaiti team that had very little to offer and failed to create even a single scoring chance in the 1st half.

Majid Hosseini , Iran’s best defender was marsheling the defense perfectly well but his dismissal in the 77th  minute  of the match, highlighted a serious flaw in Omid team, lack of pace. Hosseini  was red carded  after two consecutive yellow cards and ironically due to the same reason.
Hosseini despite his superior display against the Kuwaiti players, lacked pace and was easily beaten by the substitute  player  who passed him with ease so Hosseini fouled him for his 1st caution. A few minutes later a similar situation developed and again a Kuwait player dribbled and accelerated past him , again Majid Hosseini fouled and got his 2nd yellow card  and marching orders.

It was apparent from this display that the playing style remains quite similar to the team coached by Vingada’s team that failed to progress past the group stages in the Asian Games Incheaon despite so many changes. Superior ball control and individual techniques failed to yield a satisfactory result with the Omid team forwards failing to score as they deserved.

Omid Team finishing left a lot to be desired against a very ordinary Kuwaiti team lacking in tactics. Time after time , omid players easily reached Kuwait penalty box , but a combination of some heroics by Kuwait keeper and feeble last touches , prevented the players  to convert their superiority into goals much , rekindling the performance of the Asian Games. It was alarming how many time the players missed easy chances to put the game to bed.

There was little change in style and game plan from the last omid team. Mohammad Khakpour has failed to leave any impression on this team , not that much can be expected from a rookie inexperienced coach given a mammoth task.
The passing game and the players finding each other with easy flowing style was quite pleasing but put to test against a team which lacked punch , finesse and certainly is a few steps lower in standard than Iran’s Omid team , the result was concerning.