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Tehran Times - Rahim Zahivi's late goal denied Persepolis three points in a 1-1 draw in their Iran Professional League (IPL) fixture in Ahvaz on Sunday.

Persepolis football team put up a better display and opened the scoring through Godwin Mensha in the 15th minute, but one minute before the end of regulation time Zahivi found the back of the net with a long-range shot.

Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand set a new record for the amount of time without conceding a goal for the club in IPL by going 718 minutes.

He surpassed former Sepahan goalie Armenak Petrosian’s old mark of 704.

“We expected a difficult match against Foolad and they played valiantly to level the scores. We have a long way ahead. I think the draw is a fair result,” Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic said in the post-match news conference.

In Tehran, Esteghlal, who have bounced back in the recent weeks with German coach Winfried Schafer, defeated Sanat Naft 4-0 at the Azadi Stadium.

Mohsen Karimi netted twice in the 15th and 67th minutes. Dariush Shojaeian and Vouria Ghafouri also scored in the 42nd and 55th minutes respectively.

In Jam, Pars Jonoubi lost to Gostaresh Foolad 2-0.

Peyman Babaei scored in the 18th minute and Ahmad Mousavi added a late second.

Tractor Sazi also defeated Esteghlal Khuzestan 3-0 in Tabriz. Mohammad Iranpourian opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 27th minute and Omid Alishah and Ehsan pahlevan scored in the 45th and 93rd minutes respectively.

Persepolis are top of the table with 37 points, followed by Pars jonoubi and Foolad with 29 and 28 points.