Team Melli consisting mostly of reserve players . defeated Kuwait 3-2 in Enghilab Stadium , Karaj in the final round of the AFC Asian Cup qualification match.
in a thrilling final minutes of the match , while Iran was leading 2-1 , Kuwaiti forward Fahad Al Rasheedi scored Kuwait equalizer while 3 Iraninan defenders were surrounding him , yet he beat Ahmadi easily. However , that joy was short lived as substitute Karim Ansarifard scored in added time to cut short the Kuwaiti celebration of the equalizer. Yaghoub Karimi send an immaciulate cross from the left where Ansarifard rised to head home on the far side of desperate Al khalidi.
Team Melli scored as early as the 1st minute when Yaghoub Karimi from the right , beat his marker easily and send a powerful low volley into the Kuwaiti net. Kuwait equalizer came through Mosen Bengar when he deflect a ball into Rahman Ahmadi’s net.
An own goal also restored Iran’s lead when Payam Sadeghian send a low cross from the right hand side in the 2nd half which was met by Kuwait’s Husssin Al Fadhel deflecting it into his own net.
The match was played in a good spirit until the petulant Kuwait keeper Al Khaldi nearly started a mass bust up. In front of the referee , he pushed Bakhtiyar Rahmani from the back although the Iranian midfielder made a gallant effort not clash with the keeper. Following that a spate of shoving and pushing started mainly by Messaed Nada who was acting like a gang member. Sanity prevailed after the officials of the two teams intervened, but the shock was the Kyrgyzstan referee action. He awarded the victim , Rahmani a yellow card for no offense at all, while he left the two Kuwaiti players who started the assault , unpunished. Such is the standard of refereeing in Asia, unfortunately.
In a wise and logical move by Queiroz , the Portuguese coach elected to use his B team for this match while he has a match against Guinea in two days time. The gamble paid off nicely and despite some setbacks, the reserve team under the Captaincy of Ehsan Haj Safy played well and above expectation. There were some nice passes exchanges as the team created several scoring chances.
Iran & Kuwait qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia.
| Teams | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I.R. IRAN | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 16 |
| KUWAIT | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 9 |
| LEBANON | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 5 |
| THAILAND | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 0 |
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AFC.COM report
Karaj: Karim Ansari Fard’s stoppage-time header secured a 3-2 victory for Iran over Kuwait in Group B of AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 qualifying on Monday, ensuring Carlos Queiroz’s side finished on top of the standings.
Both nations fielded unfamiliar sides having already guaranteed their tickets for the finals in January of next year, and the Iranians’ experimental line-up took the lead after just two minutes through Yaghoub Karimi.
Mesaed Nada levelled the scores in the 18th minute with a deflected effort before the Iranians regained the lead 16 minutes into the second half, when Payam Sadeghian found the back of the net. Jorvan Vieira’s visitors thought they had done enough to claim a share of the points when, with a minute remaining, a fine effort from Fahad Al Rashidi restored parity once again, only for Ansari Fard to secure the win a minute into added time when he nodded in Ehsan Haj Safi’s cross.
“Today’s match was worth three points and we finished the qualifying group stage with 16 points,” said Queiroz after the game. “It also was a good chance for some players to experience an international match.
“Some of our players had trained with us in only two sessions. And some were earning their first national cap.
“We confronted a strong Kuwaiti side who had stopped us in Kuwait with a draw. Some of the new players were naturally a little anxious at the beginning of the match, but we got control during the second period. I am satisfied with the victory.”
The result left Kuwait on nine points, seven behind the Iranians but secure in second place ahead of third-placed Lebanon’s meeting with Thailand in the group’s remaining fixture on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to criticise my players, because they played well and I am proud of them,” said Vieira.
“It was a good game and I am satisfied with my players. We conceded a very early goal, which unbalanced the game and my players lost their concentration. Also it was this lack of focus in our defence which caused the goal.
“We got back into game after conceding the first goal by scoring the equaliser. It was a deflection however, but we ended the first half well.
“We resumed the second half just fine, but tiredness was the reason which blocked us. Our mistakes, which are normal, punished us although we played fine.
“After conceding the second goal we didn’t get disappointed and tried to stay in the game and level the match. We found the equaliser but unfortunately we conceded the third goal.”
Both nations will go into the draw for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 finals, which will be held at Sydney Opera House on March 26 for the tournament, which kicks off on January 9, 2015.
Correction to AFC.COM report.
The 1st equalizing goals for Kuwait was scored by Iran’s Mohsen Bengar as an own goal, while Iran’s second goals was scored by a Kuwaiti defender NOT Payam Sadeghian.