Iran thrash Singapore 6-0 in Asian Cup football qualifier

Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, January 14, 2009 – Iran thrashed Singapore 6-0 this evening in Tehran in their Group E AFC Asian Cup qualifying match.

In a game played in -1ºC weather before just 3,000 spectators in the 100,000-seater Azadi Stadium, Iran led 1-0 at half-time before they hit Singapore for five in the second half.

The Lions played a compact defensive game to keep the Iranians at bay but the complexion of the game took a dramatic turn in the 40th minute, when Ismail Yunos was shown the straight red card for a tackle from behind on midfielder Reza Khalatbari.

Left reeling, Singapore soon conceded a goal three minutes later in the 43rd minute when Iran’s Gholamnejhad Mageed scored.

Seven minutes into the second half, Iran scored again through captain Bagheri Karim before Gohamreza Rezaei scored Iran’s third just three minutes later in the 55th minute.

Singapore held on for a little longer but conceded another when Mazyar Zare Eshghdoost scored to make it 4-0 in the 79th minute.

The humiliation was complete when Nori Mohammad scored two goals in two minutes in the 82nd and 83rd minute to hand Singapore a most unwelcome start to their Asian Cup qualifying campaign.

Captain Indra Sahdan was replaced by Muhd Ridhuan at the start of the second half while Agu Casmir came on for John Wilkinson in the 67th minute. Juma’at Jantan also made an appearance when he came on for Shahril Ishak in the 57th minute.

"This was a very heavy defeat for us but we played very well in the first half. Until the sending off, we were very organised and compact. We did not let them play,' said coach Avramovic.

"But things were very difficult in the second half as we had one man down and against a good team like Iran, this makes a very big difference.

"They also had very physical and tall players and they took advantage of that as we had difficulty in dealing with their crosses," he added.

Line-up: Lionel Lewis (GK), Ismail Yunos, Baihakki Khaizan, Precious Emuejeraye, Daniel Bennett, Shahril Ishak (Juma’at Jantan 57′), Fahrudin Mustafic, Isa Halim, John Wilkinson (Agu Casmir 67′), Noh Alam Shah, Indra Sahdan (Ridhuan Muhammad 46′)

Subs not used: Hassan Sunny, Shaiful Esah, Rosman Sulaiman, Mustaqim Manzur

Player Statistics

SHAIFUL ESAH
Age: 22 (12/5/86) Position: Defender Club: SAFFC Caps: 0 Goals: 0 Jersey #: 22