Frustrated Iran held to draw by UAE in World Cup qualifier
AFP-Group co-leaders Iran''s plans of getting full points against hosts UAE was dashed when they were held to a 1-1 draw by the bottom-placed team in their Group 2 World Cup qualifier here on Wednesday.
The visitors were completely dominated at the Al Maktoum Stadium and it was only a late goal against the run of play which fetched them a point.
They will also have goalkeeper Seyed Rahmati to thank for several magical saves.
The UAE, who lost two key players, Ali Abbas and Subait Khater, even before the match began when they were penalised for breaking the team curfew, took the lead in the 19th minute through their captain Abdulraheem Jumaa.
Fittingly, it was Iran captain Karim Bagheri who restored parity for his side in the 80th minute.
It was UAE''s first point in the qualifiers in four matches, while Iran now have five points from their three, and will await the result of the match between Saudi Arabia and South Korea to see if they remain on top of the table. South Korea have four points from two matches.
Iran dominated the opening 10 minutes, but started losing possession to the hosts.
The UAE went ahead in the 19th minute when star striker Ismail Mattar shrugged off a defender on the right corner of the box and provided a measured pass to captain Jumaa at the mouth of the goal, who made no mistake in drilling it past Rahmati.
Iran could have pulled level on the 26th minute when Masoud Shojaei blasted his shot from less than three metres from the post straight into UAE goalkeeper Majed Naser''s body.
However, the assistant referee had already ruled Shojaei offside.
The UAE could have easily increased their lead in the 31st minute when Mattar was brought down just outside the box. The resultant freekick was taken by Nawaf Mubarak, and his outstanding effort curled dangerously into the right edge of the goal before Rahmati stopped it with a brilliant diving effort.
Later, Rahmati was forced to make another diving stop in the 43rd minute, when Ismail Al Hammadi made a solo effort from the left wing, weaved past two defenders and unleashed a quick, on-the-turn right-foot shot.
The hosts completely dominated the second half from the start, with Mattar repeatedly threatening the goal. The UAE striker was twice brought down just outside the box by defender Pirouz Ghorbani as he made four attempts in less than six minutes.
Iran finally found their form only after getting a freekick right at the edge of the penalty area in the 74th minute, and Naser did well to tip over a measured chip by Shojaei.
Iran restored parity in the 80th minute when captain Bagheri latched on to a good cross by Shojaei from the right and headed past Naser.
Both teams had chances in the stoppage time. First Jumaa needed to beat just the advancing Rahmati, but shot straight into him. And a minute later, Gholamreza Rezaei was in a similar position before Naser dived in front of him and denied him a chance to flick it past him.