Uruguay down Iran in penalty shootout in bad-tempered final <img border="0" src="http://www.persianleague.com/images/pic.gif">

AFP - Uruguay defeated Iran 4-2 in a penalty shootout in an ill-tempered final at the Lunar New Year Carlsberg Cup tournament Tuesday.

The score was deadlocked at 1-1 after an incident-packed 90 minutes during which players on both sides came close to blows due to over-zealous tackling.

The match ended with both teams down to 10 men. Uruguayan Horacio Peralta was shown the red card in the 90th minute after kicking Iranian Mohsen Bayati, who had fouled him with a bad tackle. Bayati was also dismissed after earning his second yellow card in the second period of extra time.

"Both teams showed a lot of passion out there tonight. It was a tough match and we played well," said Uruguayan coach Gustavo Ferrin.

Iran, fielding most of the players who won the gold medal at the Asian Games last year in Busan, South Korea, led 1-0 at halftime thanks to a goal by striker Ali Samereh. It began with Hossein Kabei crossing to Alireza Nikbakht who threaded the ball to Samereh who shot low past Uruguayan goalkeeper Mauricio Nanni.

Uruguay drew level in the 83rd minute through Bruno Silva who fired a shot from 15 yards out, which took a fortunate deflection of Iranian captain Yahya Golmohammadi past goalie Ebrahim Mirzapour.

Both sides struggled to score the golden goal in extra-time. In the penalty shootout, Iran´s nerve collapsed with first-half hero Samereh´s spot kick hitting the post while Mohammed Nosrati´s weak attempt was saved by the goalkeeper.

Julio Rodriguez, Estoyanoff, Pablo Lima and Bruno Silva were all on target with their kicks to give Uruguay a well-deserved victory.

"We were unlucky not to win today. But it is a good learning experience for this young team," said Iranian coach Homayaun Shah.

In the battle for third place, Denmark defeated a Hong Kong League XI 2-1 to grab a consolation victory. Thomas Schultz scored a breakaway goal in the 14th minute. Captain Michael Hansen converted from the penalty spot in the 88th minute to give his side a 2-0 lead.

Hong Kong grabbed a consolation goal when Dejan Antonic successfully converted a penalty.

"We dominated the match throughout. It is a pity that we were not in the final as we deserved to be in it. But I´m proud with the way the players have performed here," said Denmark coach Morten Olsen.