AFC Champions League finalists Persepolis drew 1-1 with Saipa in Iran Professional League (IPL) here at the Takhti Stadium on Saturday. Kamal Kamyabinia made it 1-0 with a thumping long-range shot in the 15th minute. Persepolis, who will travel to Japan on Monday to play Kashima Antlers in the first leg of the AFC Champions […]
AFC Champions League finalists Persepolis drew 1-1 with Saipa in Iran Professional League (IPL) here at the Takhti Stadium on Saturday.
Kamal Kamyabinia made it 1-0 with a thumping long-range shot in the 15th minute.
Persepolis, who will travel to Japan on Monday to play Kashima Antlers in the first leg of the AFC Champions League, controlled the game until the final minutes of the match but they conceded a goal in the 87th minute after failing to clear the ball.
Mohammadreza Soleymani found the back of the net with a header from the penalty area.
“We could have won the match but our players wasted their chances. I think Saipa were the better team in the second half but we missed our opportunities,” Saipa coach Ali Daei said in the post-match news conference.
“The referee’s decisions went against us. The referee had to award us two penalties but didn’t do that,” he added.
“The referee had to send off Persepolis captain (Jalal Hosseini) for his behavior with his assistant but he sent off my assistant instead,” ex-Persepolis coach concluded.
Persepolis remain third six points adrift of leaders Padideh.
