Ahvaz – A brace from midfielder Hassan Beyt Saeed gave Esteghlal Khuzestan a much needed victory over visitors Esteghlal Tehran at Ghadir Stadium.
In the 25th minute, a long range blast from Meysam Doraghi was parried nicely by keeper Mehdi Rahmati. The rebound went to Hassan Beyt Saeed in the penalty area. Saeed calmly faked a left footed shot that sent defender Vouri Ghafouri sliding on the pitch.
Next, a shot by Saeed deflected off defender Hossein Kanaanizadegan high in the air that made its way into the net past a helpless Rahmati to give Esteghlal Khuzestan a 1-0 lead. The home supporters erupted in delight.
In what was a very entertaining match, Esteghlal Tehran tried so hard to find the equalizer and were finally able to get one past Brazilian keeper Rafael Roballo with thirteen minutes remaining on the clock.
Forward Kaveh Rezaei leaped high to meet a Khosro Heydari cross and head the ball past Roballo to tie the score at 1-1.
The Esteghlal Tehran supporters were excited after Rezaei’s goal but their celebrations only lasted for seven minutes.
Mehdi Momeni received a pass from Ali Asghar Ashouri, carried the ball deep into the penalty area and got past defenders Meysam Majidi and Hossein Kanaanizadegan.
Mehdi Rahmati came off his line to challenge Momeni and actually blocked his shot but the rebound went right to Hassan Beyt Saeed and he shot the rebound in to give Esteghlal Khuzestan a 2-1 lead.
The Esteghlal Khuzestan supporters erupted in joy at the final whistle as they earned their first win of the season after drawing 2-2 last week with Tractor Sazi in Tabriz.
Sirous Pourmousavi earned his first win as Head Coach of Esteghlal Khuzestan and Brazilian keeper Rafael Roballo got his first win in the Iranian Pro League.
Roballo played well in goal today but he also believed that the crowd was essential to earning the victory over Esteghlal Tehran.
“I have never seen anything like this,” said Roballo. “The energy of our crowd is special, they support us the whole ninety minutes.”
The hero of the match was definitely Hassan Beyt Saeed with his two important goals to defeat a reloaded Esteghlal Tehran squad. Saeed has been a member of Esteghlal Khuzestan since 2015 and previously played for Foolad Khuzestan’s B team from 2013 to 2015.