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AFC - Although Iran sealed their place in the semi-finals of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Championship in Syria with their 2-0 victory over Lebanon on Tuesday, coach Branko Ivankovic's satisfaction was tempered by his concern over his side's continuing problems from the penalty spot.

"Yes, I'm very happy because it was a very important match. This event is a good test for the side as we approach the Asian Games in Busan. However, we have missed three penalties in two games so I'm getting worried about that."

With both teams having lost to Jordan, the match decided who would take the runners-up spot in Group A. Iran could have had a flying start when they were awarded a penalty after just four minutes following Lebanon goalkeeper Ziyad Ali El Samad's foul on Said Lofti.

Because of Ali Karimi's penalty miss against Jordan, the experienced Sohrab Bakhtiarazadeh took on the responsibility, but he was left with his head in his hands after putting his effort wide of the right upright.

Defending champions Iran didn't let the miss affect them, though, and left winger Alireza Vahedinikbakht gave them the lead 20 minutes later when he sent a dipping 20-yard shot inside that same post after Karimi fed him with a square ball from a free-kick.

Having seen his teammate do no better from the penalty spot than he did, Karimi was given the chance to make up for his failed effort against Jordan when he was fouled in the area nine minutes into the second half. However, his attempt was again unconvincing, with his weak shot towards the right side of the goal easily saved by Samad.

"In practice Karimi took 20 penalties and only missed one or two, so I thought he had his confidence back," said Ivankovic, who couldn't even dismiss the possibility of goalkeeper Ebrahim Mirzapour taking the next one.

"Don't rule it out," he laughed. "Goalkeepers have a lot of practice kicking!

The miss left Lebanon with hope of an equaliser, despite the fact that Mirzapour - one of the over 23 players in the squad along with Karimi and Bakhtiarazadeh - wasn't truly tested until Bilal Hussein Hajo's shot from a tight angle in the 62nd minute.

Lebanon were clearly missing the creative skills of playmaker Moussa Hjeijh, who missed the match with a thigh injury suffered against Jordan. Despite their desperation, Lebanon's next worthwhile attempt came in the 86th minute when substitute Mohammed Kassas headed straight at Mirzapour from a corner.

As Lebanon threw players forward in the final minutes, Iran ended the match as a contest when substitute Javad Kazemeyan sped down the right-hand flank before squaring the ball across the six-yard box for Karimi to sidefoot home.

After the ups and downs of the match, Ivankovic could see the positive side of his side's performance.

"I was impressed with how the team fought back after each penalty miss - this could have easily affected their confidence. The players knew this was a big test after losing to Jordan ... now we have to prepare for the semis."
 

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