Iran’s Mes Sungun storms into Asian futsal club semifinals
Iran’s Mes Sungun Varzaghan convincingly booked itself a spot in the 2018 AFC Futsal Club Championship semifinals in Indonesia after securing an emphatic 8-3 win over FC Erem of Kyrgyz Republic on Wednesday.
Ali-asghar Hassanzadeh opened the scoring within the first minute of the game but the Iranians had no time to enjoy the lead as Dilshat Kadyrov scored the equalizer moments after the restart, the-afc.com reported.
Mohammadreza Sangsefidi restored Mes Sungun’s lead in the third minute before Saied Taqizadeh and Abolqasem Oruji etching their names on the scoreboard in the fifth and seventh minutes respectively.
In the 12th minute, Alireza Asgari dispossessed Erem’s defense and easily shot through the keeper Kirill Ermolov’s legs and then Taqizadeh scored his second a minute later to give Mes a five-goal advantage going into the break at the Gor Amongraga.
Less than 10 seconds into the second half, Asgari displayed marvelous footwork when he dribbled past the Erem backline and let loose a right-footed strike to score his second.
Baigazy Uulu pulled one back for the Kyrgyz side in the 33rd minute before Taku Pavel scored just moments later to reduce Erem’s deficit.
Stunned by the two goals, Mes Sungun began experimenting with different players donning the power player jersey, looking to solidify itself a spot in the semifinals, while Erem too introduced its fifth attacking member.
However, Erem eventually fell to an own goal by Maskat Alimov in the 37th minute when he deflected Asgari’s shot as it ended 8-3.
“We have reached our target, and very soon, we will reach our goal. Altogether, it was expected to have such a result. We will now plan for our semifinals match,” Mes Sungun head coach Hamid Bigham said after the game.