AFC, BANGALORE
Iran fought back from a goal down to outclass debutants Tajikistan 3-1 for a winning start to their Group D campaign in the AFC Youth Championship here on Sunday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

The Tajiks took the lead through Akhtam Khamrakulov in the 10th minute but Shahram Goudarzi equalised with a 55th minute strike before Mostafa Chatrabgoon ran riot with two goals in the 60th and 81st minutes.

In a match replete with flowing end-to-end football, Tajikistan showed no inhibitions against their fancied rivals, making for a thrilling passing game in stark contrast to the earlier tie between Japan and DPR Korea when long balls dominated for long periods.

The Tajiks put Iran under immense pressure when Jamshed Ismoilov missed a sitter with the match just six minutes old from near the penalty box, wasting Khamrakulov’s brilliant pass from a tight position after he had jinked past two defenders.

Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi had hardly recovered from this opening salvo when Khamrakulov showed how it is to be done after slotting home a replica pass from Akmal Sabourov, sending the packed stadium into raptures.

Iran, playing in whites, could have equalised the very next minute when Tajik goalkeeper Abduaziz Mahkamov flapped embarrassingly at the ball which completed eluded him before being stopped on the goalline by Safarali Karimov.

Iranfs Milad Zanidpour thought he had scored with a fierce curler from distance but the ball went just wide of the right post with the goalkeeper caught flatfooted.

Another half-chance went begging on the half-hour mark when Yasha Khalili was set up by Ali Amir inside the box but Khalili contrived to shoot straight at the feet of a grateful Mahkamov before the Tajik defence scrambled to clear.

In the first minute of the second half, Kamil Saidov was sent through to a clipped pass and the Khima striker made no mistake, drilling it low into the right corner, only to have his celebrations halted by the linesman’s upraised flag.

Iran’s sustained pressure paid off in the 55th minute when Zanidpour picked out Goudarzi with his well-weighted cross at the far post and the striker lashed the ball in with his right foot. Parity restored, Iran cranked up the pressure and the scoreline tilted in their favour in the 60th minute when Goudarzi turned provider, passing to Chatrabgoon for a first-touch shot from 12 yards.

Tajik coach Salohidin Gafurov pulled out Khamrakulov with 10 minutes to go and introduced a pair of fresh legs in the form of midfielder Rahmonali Barotov but this was to little avail as Chatrabgoon struck again with a powerful drive which Mahkamov had no chance of stopping nine minutes before the end.

Iran’s hero could have netted a deserving hat-trick had not another shot in the death gone agonisingly wide.

“We didn’t do our best and I have to tell everyone that we are capable of much more,” said Iran coach Alberto Oliviera. “I told my boys to cool down and play their natural game in the second half.”

“They started pushing out and the combination of our key players also clicked.”

The victory will allow Iran to go into their next match against DPR Korea on October 31 full of confidence while Tajikistan will be hoping to get their campaign on track against Japan on the same day.