(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Iranian national squad has pummeled Persian Gulf rival, Bahrain, to seal its foothold on top of the Group E of the Asian World Cup qualifiers.
Team Melli blanked 10-man Bahrain with six goals before about 80,000 spectators at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on Tuesday.
The Bahraini side had player, Rahsed al-Hooti, sent off by Australian referee, Peter Green, seconds into the match for a harsh tackle on Andranik Teymourian.
Iran scored the opener in the 22nd minute, when Seyyed Jalal Hosseini rippled the net on a rebound.
Mojtaba Jabbari slotted the ball in with a low shot from inside the box to double the lead in the 34th minute.
Iran took a three-goal cushion into the break after defender, Hadi Aqili, headed another score three minutes to the end of the first half.
Teymourian's screaming long-range shot made it 4-0 for Iran in the 62nd minute and substitute, Karim Ansari-Fard, extended the lead, volleying home on a corner 15 minutes from time.
In the 83rd minute, Gholam-Reza Rezaei finished off a pass from Khosro Heydari with a diving header to culminate a wonderful night of football for the home fans.
Also on Tuesday, Qatar beat Indonesia 3-2 in the other match of the group.
Iran is leading the Group E with seven points followed by Qatar with five points and Bahrain with four, while Indonesia is in the fourth place with none.
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11 October 2011 - 20:30
News ID: 271300
Team Melli blanked 10-man Bahrain with six goals before about 80,000 spectators at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on Tuesday.
