The fanatically awaited for Iran’s 15th Premier League of Soccer was inaugurated on Thursday at 6:00 pm local time.
The opening match was between Saih-Jamegan of Mashhad and Esteghlal of Tehran held in Samen Stadium packed with 20,000 spectators hoping to watch the thrills and spills.
The opening ceremony contained the message from Head of Iran’s League Organization Mahdi Taj expressing hope for well-organized events in this edition of the cherished league of 2015-16.
Sajjad Shahbazi opened Saih-Jamegan’s goal heading the ball sent by Arash Borhani to be titled the first scorer of the 15th IPL.
The first half was ended with 1-0 score for Esteghlal while the hosts led by Rasoul Khatibi equalized at 63 by former season’s blue Reza Enayati who was under attention to face his ex-teammates in the first round of the 15th IPL.
Siah Jamegan’s goal came after many opportunities to widen the distance with Mashhadis were lost by the blues.
At 68, Artash Borhani, in the box, lingered so long that he lost another chance to re-bring superiority for his team and gave away the ball to defenders.
At 73, after the Siah Jamegan missed a ball after a corner kick, the blues backfired rapidly and Arash Borhani passed to Seyed Mohsen Karimi who lost the one-on-one situation.
One minute later, Seyed Mohsen Karimi was replaced by Behnam Barzay by Esteghlal’s manager Mazloumi.
Just minutes in pitch, in a two-on-two situation, Barzay assisted Sajjad Shahbazi to score his and Esteghlal’s second in the game and in the league.
At minute 80, Esteghlal’s Jasem Mohammad Karrar was substituted by Farsheed Esmaieli. One minute later in a substitution for Siah Jamegan, Enayati was replaced by Mehran, however, it couldn't help IPL newcomers seize any points.
Edge passing the Red and Blacks of Mashhad, Esteghlal achieved its 212th victory in IPL. This 15th edition of the league is 288 days long and will be capped on May 13, 2016.