the-afc.com
Bangkok: Reza Shekari scored twice as former AFC U-16 Championship winners Iran edged out Qatar 3-2 on Sunday in a highly-entertaining Group D opener at Rajamangala Stadium.
Hassan Ahmad had handed Qatar the lead after just four minutes only for Reza Karimi to equalise midway through the first half before Shekari turned the tie in favour of an improving Iran just after half-time.
Ahmad did level the scores just before the hour mark, but 2008 champions Iran quickly responded through Shekari’s second to claim all three points despite the dismissal of defender Nima Daghestani with just under 20 minutes remaining.
“The first match in any tournament is important. In the first minutes we could not play well and could not perform due to a lack of concentration, but as time passed, we became the dominant team,” said Iran coach Mostafa Ghanbar Pour, who must now turn his attentions to Tuesday’s meeting with Saudi Arabia.
“By shifting the positions of the players on the field we could score the second goal, and by increasing the pressure, we could score the third goal.
“The sending off of our central defender created a lot of pressure on us, but even though it was not a beautiful match, we were able to get the three points.”
In testing afternoon heat, Qatar made the ideal start as Ahmad’s deflected shot from the edge of the penalty area squirmed past Iran goalkeeper Farid Nejatpashaki after the striker’s clever flick close to the halfway line had sent Abdulrasheed Umaru clear in space down the left before continuing his run and collecting a return pass from his strike partner.
Iran, though, looked for an instant response to the early setback and had the ball in the back of the net after 10 minutes only for the assistant referee’s flag to cut short celebrations after Vahid Aftari’s header had looped over stranded Qatar goalkeeper Mohammed Ibrahim.
The end-to-end nature of the contest continued as the half progressed, but with Iran increasing their dominance particularly in the final third, the scores were level after 21 minutes as Karimi raced clear of the Qatar backline before firing low across Ibrahim from inside the area.
And Iran finished the half on top as Karimi was denied by the legs of Ibrahim four minutes before half-time before Shekari headed over from the resulting corner.
But Shekari was not to be denied three minutes after the restart as the midfielder collected Aftari’s pass before scooping his strike past Ibrahim in the Qatar goal.
Qatar, though, drew level a minute before the hour mark as Ahmad beat the Iran offside trap and after showing calmness beyond his years, the 16-year-old expertly scooped the ball over exposed goalkeeper Nejatpashaki from the edge of the penalty area.
But Iran regained the lead just two minutes later as Qatar custodian Ibrahim failed to collect a high ball across the face of goal, and with the goalkeeper out of position as the ball was directed back across the face of goal, Shekari was on hand to head home despite the presence of two defenders on the goalline.
Iran’s task of holding onto their lead this time, though, was made significantly harder with 19 minutes remaining as Daghestani was sent-off after picking up a second yellow card.
But despite several nervy moments in Iran backline, Qatar were unable to find a response in the closing stages.
“Iran are a very strong team and it was hard for us. We did a lot of good things, but we made mistakes,” said Qatar coach Oscar Fernandez, who must now re-group his side to face Syria on Tuesday.
“We know we need to recover as we have another game in two days. We need to build on the good things and now is the time to rest and recover as we have another game.
“We had chances against a great team, one of the best teams here, and we played very well and had chances. Their goalkeeper made two or three good saves and we had a lot of corners as well.”