<font face="Verdana" size="2">Persepolis beats Naft&nbsp; <img border="0" src="http://www.persianleague.com/images/pic.gif" width="13" height="11">

IRNA - Persepolis of Tehran defeated the representative of Abadan, San'at Naft, in the 9th week of Iran Pro League (IPL) here Friday. Striker Payan Ra'fat scored the sole goal of the match in the 12th minute giving the reds a 1-0 victory over the Abadani side on the pitch of Takhti Stadium, south of Tehran. 
San'at Naft missed its best scoring chance in the 26th minute. Raf'at Qoliov was denied by the reds' post and a Naft striker failed to net the rebound. 
Fereydoun Esfahanian judged the match. With 20 points, Persepolis is at the second place pursuing the IPL leader Sepahan of Isfahan that has 25 points. Persepolis archrival, Esteqlal of Tehran, missed three badly-needed points Thursday. 
SAIPA stunned Esteqlal of Tehran Thursday as it managed to defeat the blues here in the ninth week of Iran Pro League (IPL). Playing on the uneven pitch of Tehran's Takhti Stadium, SAIPA struck twice to win the match 2-1, imposing the third loss on Esteqlal. 
The first half was not appealing and the two Tehrani sides failed to find the back of the net but they played a better football in the second time. 
In the 46th minute, Esteqlal midfielder Alireza Mansourian fired agoal-bound shot, forcing diving SAIPA goalkeeper Behzad Gholampour to send the ball above his woodwork. 
One minute later, Mohammad Mo'meni put SAIPA ahead as his shot kissed the net of error-prone Esteqlal goalie Parviz Boroumand. The situation was aggravated for the blue-clad Esteqlal in the 77th minute when SAIPA skipper Mohammad Soltani unleashed an unstoppable shot that touched the top left corner of Boroumand's net, making it two-nil. 
Nine minutes from the normal time, Esteqlal minimized the gap. Yadollah Akbari converted a penalty. 
Esteqlal missed some scoring chances in the last moments of the match and lost the match.