Mes Sungun Humbles Tajikistan’s Sipar

Debutant Mes Sungun from Iran opened its AFC Futsal Club Championships in Group D with an emphatic 9-2 win over Tajikistan’s FC Sipar on Thursday in Indonesia.

In the fifth minute, Mes Sungun’s Mortteza Ezzati put heavy pressure on Sipar’s Zahir Kamyab, forcing him back into his own box which caused a scramble, and amid the confusion Dilshod Salomov’s attempt to clear the ball crashed into his own goal, AFC reported.

Three-time AFC Futsal Player of the Year and Mes Sungun’s most recent recruit Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh  doubled the advantage barely three minutes later with a simple tap in through a corner set-piece, before Saeed Taqizadeh made it 3-0 in the 11th minute with a superb volley at close range.

With three goals down, Sipar coach Benyamin Eqbali opted for power play immediately after that forced the Iranian club into a defensive posture for the first time. But Mes Sungun retaliated by doubling the pressure.

Mes Sungun’s set-piece formation was sublime, with each player positioned in the final third to ensure a finishing touch and in the 15th minute Towhid Lotfi slid the ball in when he was left unmarked in front of the goal.

Farhad Fakhim etched his name on the scoreboard a minute before half-time when he latched onto a loose ball and released a crackling strike near the second penalty spot to give Mes Sungun a comfortable lead going into the break.

Hassanzadeh turned provider three minutes into the second half with his perfect through pass that found Ezzati clear in front of the box and made no mistake to hit home.

Rustam Hamidov managed to pull one back for Sipar in the 30th minute, courtesy of Sobirdzhon Gulyakov’s pass, but Mes Sungun restored the six-goal lead with Hossein Tayebi scoring his first goal of the night four minutes later.

 Showing Added Confidence  

Reaching the final minutes of the match, the Iranians demonstrated added confidence in their moves around the court and found space in Sipar’s half to unleash long range shots. In one such instance Abolqasem Orouji discharged a strike that forced custodian Shukhrat Bibudov into a save, but Tayebi was in a perfect spot to secure a seven-goal lead.

Hassanzadeh added another assist to his name with a lob over keeper Bibudov which was headed in by Tayebi in the 38th minute to complete his hat-trick.

However, it was FC Sipar which had the final say when it counter-attacked with 40 seconds left on the clock that saw Gulyakov surging down middle and beating Mes Sungun goalkeeper Saeed Momeni to end the match.

Mes Sungun takes on Uzbekistan’s AGMK FC, while Sipar faces Bank of Beirut on Saturday.

Mes Sungun’s head coach Hamid Bigham-Tabrizi explained the way to success in his first game.

“Usually, in the first game you would have difficulties because nobody knows what will happen. But at the same time, we tried our best to use all of our players. We also tried to focus on the opponent’s performance. All things considered, I’m satisfied and the next game will be much better.”