Tehran – Five matches were played today in the IPL. Esteghlal were looking to jump to the top of the table but would Esteghlal Khuzestan slip up against Saba Qom? Three of today’s matches ended in draws, including a scoreless draw between Malavan and Rah Ahan.
Siah Jamegan v Padideh
Reza Nasehi put Padideh in the lead after only two minutes. The game remained scoreless until the 61st minute when the savvy veteran Reza Enayati scored the equalizer to make sure that both teams would share the spoils. Siah Jamegan are currently sitting in one of the relegation spots but are unbeaten in their last four matches and are only one point behind Foolad and Malavan.
Esteghlal Ahvaz v Naft Tehran
Esteghlal Ahvaz continued their road towards relegation with a tough 1-0 loss to visitors Naft Tehran. Striker Issa Alekasir scored the decisive goal in the 87th minute to earn the valuable three points for Naft.
Esteghlal v Gostaresh Foolad
The Blues were looking to secure three points against Gostaresh after their defeat to Naft Tehran. Forward Sajjad Shahbazzadeh put Esteghlal in front in the 33rd minute. One minute before the end of the half, midfielder Mohsen Karimi scored to give the home side a 2-0 lead going into the interval. Gostaresh did get on the scoreboard in the 93rd minute through Shahram Goudarzi but it was too little and too late as the win for Esteghlal takes them to the top of the IPL Table.
Saba Qom v Esteghlal Khuzestan
The first half was scoreless but Karim Eslami broke the deadlock three minutes after the restart to give Saba Qom a 1-0 lead. It didn’t take long for Esteghlal Khuzestan to find the equalizer eleven minutes later through the young striker Farshad Janfaza. A 1-1 tie on the road wasn’t a terrible result for the visitors but the tie means that Esteghlal Tehran have now jumped ahead of Esteghlal Khuzestan in the IPL Table.