Iran managed to pull off a spectacular victory over Iraq as the first of two friendly football matches of the LG Peace Tour 2006 kicked off last night in Amman’s King Hussein Stadium. In a tight and hard-fought match, the Iranians overcome stiff opposition from the equally talented Iraqis to win 2-0.
The match, the 26th encounter between the two national teams, gave spectators many edge-of-the-seat moments as the two squads tried to penetrate each other’s defences right from the start. The first 25 minutes of the game was fairly cat-and-mouse with players trying to snatch the ball from the other team, resulting in much of the action taking place in the mid-field.
The Iranians opted for long-range passes to infiltrate into the deeper zone of the field, whilst their rivals adopted a series of short range passes. In the 25th minute, Iran’s Shays Rezaei eventually succeeded in getting past Iraqi goalkeeper Sirhank to firmly net the first goal.
The Iraqis came back in full force but failed to even level the score due to Iranian goalie Hassan Roudbarian’s brilliant saves. During the 34th minute, Ammar Mohammed of the Iraqi team came close to nudging a goal in the Iranian net when he succeeded in penetrating the Iranian defense. However, he lost his balance and the ball at close proximity to his target.
The second goal by the Iranians was scored by Mehdi Rajabzadeh by way of a forceful shoot from afar straight past Sirhank. Even though the Iranian team is missing its Hanover striker Vahid Hasemian and several others of its prominent professional players, the Iranian squad managed to display excellent capabilities of building a critical attack on the Iraqi team’s goalie and goal.
Commenting on the match, K. W. Kim, President of LG Electronics – Middle East and Africa, said: “The LG Peace Tour is intended to boost sportsmanship and greater understanding through football’s endearing popularity in the Arab world. The success of this endeavour encourages us to introduce similar concepts in the region.”
The Iranians next take on Jordan tomorrow, October 6th. Now in its second year, the LG Peace Tour has evolved as one of the highly anticipated annual sporting events in the region. Last year’s inaugural match saw Iraq and Jordan engaged in a keen competition, with the Iraqis eventually emerging triumphant 1-0.
Next Match:
October 6 – Iran versus Jordan (Match Time: 22:00 Jordan Local Time)
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