Match Report
On the table this was a mismatch: Iran (1st, 23 pts) held a 21-point advantage over Turkmenistan (3rd, 2 pts). The last five rounds placed Turkmenistan no better than 57th for form, against 3rd in the standings. Scoring rates set the scale: Turkmenistan 0.67 scored and 2.33 conceded per game, Iran 1.9 and 0.8, with the league averaging 1.4.
Turkmenistan had gone 8 games without a win. Over the last five, Turkmenistan had taken 2 of 15 points to Iran's 10.
Aşgabat Stadiony in Ashgabat staged the fixture, a ground that holds 10,000. On the scoreboard, Iran led 1-0 at the break, and no goals arrived after the restart: 0-1 the final score.