Shiraj 1 - 1 Zagros (373740790)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 32264 at نعره شیران today. Xavier Grondin was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Przemyslaw Boruch and Orro Poska. Everyone was excited about the upcoming Tehran derby and the crowd was divided evenly. Shiraj tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Kianfar - Seybek, Cărămidaru, Janhuba - Bellemare, Calabrano, Ali Madadi, Reekers, Ciborowski - Noer Mogensen, Mărgărit.

Zagros started off with a 5-3-2 lineup. Lineup: Marcu - Bazdidi, Borhani, Afsari, Haghighi, Fyhrell - Andronic, Afroukhteh, Oberkersch - Felkl, Van Landuyt.

Shiraj took a creative approach on the field. Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Zagros. Many thought C. Mărgărit ought to have been awarded a penalty 15 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around D. Marcu after a determined run through the middle. 32 minutes into the game, S. Haghighi finished off a Zagros left wing counterattack, making the score 0 - 1. The crowd gasped as G. Bellemare of Shiraj was flattened by an opponent after 44 minutes and had to be carried off. R. Coronel came in off the bench. It was 0 - 1 at the break. Shiraj had most of the ball, with 83 percent of possession.

Good work by the Zagros defensive line after 49 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found H. Borhani alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. P. Haddad Zarin was called on to replace Zagros's H. Borhani after 59 minutes following a nasty collision. After 66 minutes of play, V. Noer Mogensen evened things up for Shiraj with an impressive goal coming up the middle. 1 - 1. Shiraj had a good opportunity to take the lead as V. Noer Mogensen came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of D. Marcu. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Shiraj, with 85 percent of the ball.

C. Mărgărit performed admirably for Shiraj. However, R. Coronel made a disastrous appearance. Most important Zagros player was V. Felkl. P. Haddad Zarin turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 1.