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| Rezaei stars in Iran victory |
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| Iran coach Ali Daei was happy with his side's second-half performance as they came from a goal down to draw 1-1 in the UAE. |
TEHRAN: A goal and two assists by Gholamreza Rezaei helped Iran start the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship campaign with a 3-0 victory over Palestine on Thursday.
In another match of this six-nation tournament, Syria were held goalless by Jordan.
Rezaei and his strike partner Milad Meydavoudi failed to make any inroads in initially but they were awarded a penalty in the 29th minute when Rezaei was brought down by goalkeeper Saleh. Kianoosh Rahmati converted the chance with ease to put the hosts 1-0 ahead.
Rezaei could have doubled the lead seven minutes from half time but his shot hit the woodwork. The nippy striker made amends two minutes later when he slotted the ball home on a Ibrahim Sadeghi pass.
Ali Daei's side were reduced to 10-man in the 70th minute when Rahmati was given his marching orders after picking up his second yellow card.
Rezaei again turned provider four minutes from time when his pass found substitute striker Jalal Rafkhaei on the edge of the box and the Malavan striker curled the ball into the net.
Palestine will take on Qatar on Saturday while Oman will face Syria on the same day.
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