Zob Ahan scored a late goal through substitute Igor to defeat 10-man Mes Kerman 1-0 and book their place in the last 8 of the AFC Champions League.

Mes Kerman had the edge going into the game with a better standing in the domestic Iranian league, but things got tough for them pretty when Abolghasem Dehnavi was sent off in first-half stoppage time.

Zob Ahan didn’t do enough during the second half to look like they would take the game due to their numerical disadvantage. However as the game was about to enter into extra time, Igor was left unmarked inside the area following an 84th minute corner. The Brazilian striker took the opportunity and headed home the winner.

Zob Ahan took the fist chance in the game in the 15th minute mark when Mohammad Ghazi headed over from a free-kick with just the goalkeeper to beat before Mes had their first chance in the 17th minute when Edinho floated a free kick into the Zob Ahan box for Gholamabbas Ashoubi, to head into the crossbar.

These two chances woke both teams up and which then resulted in several chances for Mes, who really should have a couple of the chances they had.

The first of those came after 26 minutes when Edinho received the ball just outside the box and turned towards goal before volleying just wide with his weaker left foot.

Mes again came close in the 37th minute when Mahdi Rajabzadeh dribbled into the area but opted to shoot straight into the keeper’s grateful hands when perhaps a more measured finish would have been the better option.

This momentum was halted when Dehnavi was shown his second yellow card after handling the ball.

Consequently, Zob Ahan came out the more confident in the second half and in the 54th minute a fine pass by Sina Ashori into the box for Ghasem Hadadifar allowed the midfielder to turn his defender but his shot was straight into the hands of the keeper.

Zob Ahan coach Mansour Ebrahimzadeh opted to introduce Igor in the 80th minute and it proved a wise tactical decision as the forward grabbed the winner four minutes later, heading home from a corner after being left unmarked inside the box.