Mes Sungun overcame a stiff challenge to defeat Nafit Al-Wasat of Iraq 3-2 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Friday and book a spot in the AFC Futsal Club Championship 2018 final on Friday.
The Iranian club players were quick off the blocks and came close to taking the lead in the first minute as they pressed Nafit, but Hossein Tayebi’s volley from the edge of the area missed the target, the AFC wrote.
Nafit kept it tight at the back and countered a minute later with Waleed Khalid Al Mayali’s effort but he pulled his shot wide of the post.
It was a tense game as both teams fought hard for possession and were evenly matched as they struggled to find the net.
Mes Sungun looked likely to score whenever it had the ball but Nafit goalkeeper Yahya Abdulnoor Raheem did not flinch as he parried shots from Farhad Fakhim and Tayebi.
Iran’s persistence finally paid off through Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh’s effort in the 16th minute when he connected to Abolghasem Orouji’s delivery from the right.
A goal down, the Iraqis started applying pressure and Mes Sungun finally cracked when Farhad Tavakoli Roozbahani timed his run perfectly to fire Nafit back into the game with 43 seconds left in the first half.
Nafit players started the second half brightly and did not give their opponent room to operate as the Iraq club closed down every Mes Sungun attack.
However, a lapse in concentration gave Mes Sungun an opening and Hassanzadeh scored with a clinical finish in the 27th minute from the top of the arc.
The Iraqis found themselves on the back foot again and pressed forward to equal the score but their efforts fell flat as the Iranians kept their cool and put up a robust defense.
The Iraqi side executed the power play in the 37th minute but the tactic backfired when they lost the ball midway through their attack and Fakhim punished the Iraq club with Mes Sungun’s third goal as he fired the ball into an empty net from his own half.
Ghodrat Bahadori pulled one back for Nafit in the 38th minute but Mes Sungun held on and will face Vietnam’s Son Nam in Sunday’s final.
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