Iran win but fail to take full advantage

Stand-in skipper Karim Bagheri scored on the stroke of half-time to give Iran a 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Tehran…

Stand-in skipper Karim Bagheri scored on the stroke of half-time to give Iran a 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Tehran in the first leg of the Asian zone World Cup play-off.

Despite dominating the match, Iran may well be left to regret a host of missed chances when they travel to Abu Dhabi on October 31st for the return leg. The winners of the Asian play-off will go on to face the Republic of Ireland over two legs for a place in the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea next summer.

Iran had been forced into the play-offs after losing their final Group A game 3-1 in Bahrain last week while rivals Saudi Arabia clinched their place in the finals by defeating Thailand 4-1.

Bagheri, leading the team in the absence of the suspended Ali Daei, struck just before the interval to score the only goal of the game.

READ MORE

A corner from Ali Karimi was punched away by Mutaz Abdulla in the UAE goal, but the ball fell invitingly to Bagheri who slotted it home from the edge of the box.

But Iran should have wrapped up this match comfortably in front of 50,000 fans in the Azadi Stadium. In the first half alone, the impressive Ali Karimi had a dozen raids on the UAE goal with Abdulla pulling off a string of fine saves. Karimi then watched in agony when, for once, he beat Abdulla only to see his shot come off the post.

Iran coach Miroslav Blazevic, who was sent off with two of his players in the match with Bahrain, showed his disgust as his side squandered more chances after the break. The UAE were happy to soak up the pressure, but had two opportunities in the second half.

First, Fahed Masoud saw a 67th-minute free-kick saved and then Yasser Salem came close three minutes from the end.

The return match takes place on October 31st while the two matches against Ireland are scheduled for November 10th in Dublin with the return in either the UAE or Iran on November 15th.