page_title: 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group C
section_title: Iran vs Bahrain
hierarchical_section_title: 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group C / Matches / Iran vs Bahrain
caption_attribution_description: English: AAMI Park during the Group C match between Iran and Bahrain in the 2015 AFC Asian Cip
context_page_description: Group C of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup was one of four groups of nations competing at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. The group's first round of matches were played on 11 January, the second round on 15 January, and the final round on 19 January. All six group matches were played at venues in Australia. The group consisted of Iran, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. Iran and United Arab Emirates advanced as group winners and runners-up respectively, while Bahrain and Qatar were eliminated.
context_section_description: Ehsan Hajsafi and Masoud Shojaei scored either side of half-time for Iran, who were roared on by the vast majority of the 17,712 strong crowd in Melbourne. Hajsafi opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time when his volley looped under the bar after Bahrain had partially cleared a corner, while Shojaei doubled Iran's lead in the 71st minute from another set piece. Iran showed plenty of power down the flanks, guile in midfield and defensive solidity and, barring a number of dubious offside calls, could have won by more than two goals. Iran supporters had been raucously cheering their team for at least half an hour before the game began but it was Bahrain who made the brighter start.
  Jaycee John Okwunwanne struck an audacious volley just wide, while Sayed Saeed should have done better with his free header in the 16th minute, following Sami Al-Husaini's clever chip over Iran's defence. But, after Bahrain's early flurry, Iran began to create some opportunities of their own, with Ashkan Dejagah failing to convert a one-on-one chance in the 20th minute. Two minutes later Reza Ghoochannejhad dinked the ball to a marginally offside Hajsafi, who picked out the top corner and was consequently booked, while Morteza Pouraliganji volleyed over the bar from a free-kick. Iran also had the ball in the net at the half-hour mark but were again denied by the offside flag and, after dominating the rest of the first period, Carlos Queiroz's side deservedly hit the front just before the break when Hajsafi volleyed home. The Persians could have doubled their lead immediately after the restart with Reza Ghoochannejhad bursting onto Hajsafi's pass before firing wide. The miss was moot, however, as the Charlton Athletic striker would have been denied a goal due to an incorrectly raised offside flag. But apart from Ghoochannejhad's chance, the opening 15 minutes of the second half were rather tame, before John did well to bring down a long ball and then cracked a shot on target that Iran goalkeeper Alireza Haghighi could only parry. Another poor offside call thwarted Iran in the 63rd minute as Ghoochannejhad tapped in from Shojaei's cut-back. But, there was no problem eight minutes later when Shojaei volleyed Andranik Teymourian's corner inside the far post to cap off a fine performance by Iran.
  11 January 2015
  20:00 AEDT (UTC+11)
  Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne
  Attendance: 17,712
  Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)
  Man of the Match:
  Ehsan Hajsafi (Iran)
  Assistant referees:
  Matthew Cream (Australia)
  Paul Cetrangolo (Australia)
  Fourth official:
  Christopher Beath (Australia)
  Fifth official:
  Akane Yagi (Japan)
caption: Iran v Bahrain during the 2015 AFC Asian Cup
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3264", "Image ImageLength": "1836", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "SAMSUNG", "Image Model": "SM-G750F", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2015:01:12 12:03:44", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "284", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "12418", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6410", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/50", "EXIF FNumber": "12/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "64", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:01:11 21:27:20", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:01:11 21:27:20", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "141/25", "EXIF ApertureValue": "63/25", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "91/25", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "63/25", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired", "EXIF FocalLength": "33/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2448", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1836", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "31", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "F08LLGK01AG F08LLHG10AG"}