Foolad ended their draw-heavy start with a 2:0 victory over Khaybar-Khorramabad in the Persian Gulf Pro-League on Tuesday evening. The result gives them their first win in five games, while Khaybar remain without a victory after five matches. By then the visitors had already outplayed their hosts in large spell.
I. Moradi opened the scoring in the thirty-first minute, finishing off what looked a promising move. Foolad had a goal disallowed earlier, with A. M. Khanzadi's effort ruled out by video review around the twenty-second minute. And here's the thing about that incident — it shifted momentum before the break even though the goal never stood.
The visitors doubled their lead sixty-nine minutes in when Khanzadi finally found the net. He came off the bench, having been substituted on alongside I. Moradi, who also left the pitch for fresh legs. To be fair the home side could have done more to respond, but substitutions mostly changed faces rather than fortunes.
Discipline became a talking point as the match wore on. Khaybar picked up two yellow cards, Foolad matched them with two of their own. The final booking came in stoppage time, but neither side did anything that warranted anything more serious than a caution.
In the table, Foolad move into sixth place with six points from five games. They have one win and four draws — and here's the thing — consistency without breakthrough. Khaybar sit twelfth with three points from five, still searching for that elusive opening victory after three draws and two defeats.
