Iran staged a brilliant comeback scoring two goals in the last five minutes to emerge as the Group B champions in the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship qualifiers defeating Jordan 3-2 at the Kamalapur Stadium on Friday.
Iran, who had defeated India 4-2 and Bangladesh 6-0 in the previous matches, join Vietnam, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and the winners of the Group A in the five-team second round, to be held in Kuala Lumpur from October 23.
In front of a packed gallery Jordan stunned Iran with two early goals but the eventual group champions, displaying a fighting brand of attacking football, came back from the brink of defeat to pull off a magnificent victory.
Iran came close to scoring in the 15th minute but midfielder Maryam Rahimi’s placing was parried by Jordanian shot-stopper Tareiza Hakam. Jordan drew the first blood in the very next minute as their brilliant winger Shahnaz Yaseen dashed down the right flank and went past two Iranian defenders before finishing off with a neat placing into the far post.
Shahnaz doubled the lead in the 25th minute, latching on to a long ball from Sara Ibrahim and beating Iranian keeper Maryam Yektai for her fifth goal of the tournament.
Iran stunned by the two strikes took time to settle down and start hitting back. Their perseverance paid off in the 36th minute as midfielder Zahra Sarbali stormed into the Jordan box with a Farhadikah through pass and drilled a grounder past Tarieza. Iran trailed 2-1 in the first half.
Desperate to continue their dominance in the four-team qualifiers Iran came back strong after the interval and cornered Jordan in their own half. The relentless pressure threw Jordan on the back foot but their dogged defence led by skipper Ayah Faisal kept Iran at bay.
Midfielder Maryam Rahimi in the 67th minute dribbled past three defenders but her weak shot from close range was cleared by Lama Ali. Jordan, however, ran out of steam in the last ten minutes with Iran firing on all cylinders. Substitute midfielder Ghasieh Samaneh restored parity in the 86th minute after winger Syedeh Tanin sneaked through the defence and unleashed an angular shot that fell int the feet of Samaneh who kept her cool to push the ball into the net.
Buoyed by the strike Iran mounted the pressure and a nervous Jordan conceded the third in the penultimate minute. Samaneh’s angular shot deflected off the Jordanian wall and midfielder Adeleh Karimi hit the back of the net from the top of the box sparking wild celebrations in the Iranian tent as well as in the gallery.
Amirshaghaghi Mahnaz, the coach of Iran, thanked the spectators for their support. ‘It’s a wonderful experience, I thank the people of Bangladesh for their wonderful support, we are very happy to win the group.
‘We were too relaxed in the first half and conceded two early goals but during the break I asked my players to make the defence stronger and not to concede more goals, they counter-attacked and their determination paid off,’ said Mahnaz.
Jordan coach Abu Hantash blamed the humid weather for his team’s downfall. ‘The girls lost their stamina in the last 30 minutes of the match as they could cope up with humid weather here and Iran took the advantage. However, we congratulate Iran and also Bangladesh for hosting a wonderful meet,’ said Hantash.