Action from the Iraq-Iran encounter in the AFC U-17 Championship on Thursday. AFC photo by Stanely Chou

By Tan Boon Piaw and Shahin Rahmani

SINGAPORE: Thanks to some heroic goalkeeping by Davoud Noushi Sofiani, former runners-up Iran shared the spoils with neighbours Iraq after a 0-0 draw and secured their passage to the quarterfinals of the AFC U-17 Championship here at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday.

Iraq lost to Iran 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2004 edition in Japan and although they didn’t lose this time, the result was just not good enough for them to emulate their feat two years ago. With debutants Tajikistan maintaining their perfect record by beating Yemen 4-3 in their last game in Group B, Iran booked their spot in the knockout stage against Group A toppers Japan, without either winning or scoring in the decider. The Iranians impressively reached the semifinals of the last edition in Japan before bowing out to China 3-0. They missed the 2002 edition through suspension after five players were found to be over-aged when they finished runners-up to Oman in the Vietnam edition in 2000. The Central Asians emerged as the top team in the group with nine points for a quarterfinal berth against Group A runners-up Korea Republic, while Iran finished second with four points. Iraq finished with two points and Yemen had to be content with the wooden spoon, with just one point earned. The Iraqis, whose best finish in this competition is a semifinal finish in 1988, did most of the running in the first half and should have taken the lead in the 39th minute. Iraq captain Ammar Jabbair was bought down by Iran goalkeeper Davoud Noushi Sofiani inside the box, and match referee Yuichi Nishimura from Japan, without hesitation, pointed to the spot after dishing out a yellow card to Sofiani. Much to the relief of Iran coach Mohammad Ahmad Zadeh, Sofiani turned hero from villain, by superbly saved the penalty taken by Samir Khalaf. In first half stoppage time, it was Sofiani who again emerged as Iran’s saviour with a daring save on Jabbair at the near post. Sofiani was again Jabbair’s nemesis in the 33rd minute, when he acrobatically tipped out a 24 yard free kick from the latter. Iran’s only real chance came in the 17th minute but Bakhtiar Rahmani shot wide from 20 yards out. Two minutes after the interval, Jalalaldin Alimohammadi spurned a good goal scoring chance created by Hamidreza Ali Asgari Dehaghi after ballooning the ball high. The rest of the half was a dull affair with both teams attacking relentlessly out of desperation with no goal to show. But at the end of the day, it was a point that mattered the most for the Iranians, who punched their ticket to the last eight in drab style.

Iran coach Mohammad Ahmadzadeh heaved a sigh of relief after the goalless draw and subsequent qualification for the quarterfinals. “Iraq gave us a scare and they played a very good match. But we managed to hang on and reached the objective of making the last eight. To emerge as champions in this competition, we have to play every opponent, no matter it is Korea Republic, Japan or Saudi Arabia, we will be ready for Japan in the quarterfinals.” Iraqi coach Kadhum Bander warned they would be back in force in two years’ time. “To say goodbye to this tournament is sad, but it is not the end of the world. Life goes on. We will bounce back in two years’ time.” “The missed penalty was the turning point of the match, but I am satisfied with the team’s overall performance in the whole tournament and we can hold our heads high.” The other group match saw Tajikistan fight back and overturn a two-goal deficit against their Yemeni rivals.

Already assured of their spot in the last eight, the Central Asians were guilty of complacency which allowed Muaadh Al Ameri to open the proceedings in favour of Yemen in the 41st minute while Abdullah Omar added to it in first half injury time.

The stung Tajiks hit back in force through striker Farkhod Tokhirov six minutes into the restart and matters were level when Farkhod Vasiev found the net 16 minutes later.

Davrondzhon Tukhtasanov, whose brace against Iran in the previous game helped the Tajiks storm into the last eight, was against in devastating form and powered his team into the lead in the 55th minute.

The same player grabbed his double nine minutes from time for a memorable comeback win for the Central Asians, who are playing in this tournament for the first time, though Al Ameri managed to pull another goal back for Yemen in stoppage time but that was all the 2002 runners-up could manage.