by Martin Parry
BEIJING, Aug 6 (AFP) - Three-time champions Iran sealed third place at the Asian Cup Friday thanks to veteran Ali Daei, outlasting tournament upstarts Bahrain for a 4-2 win to gain sweet revenge over their Gulf neighbours.
The inspirational Daei scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to put the game beyond Bahrain`s reach and avenge a 3-1 loss to the minnows during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers that ultimately cost Iran a spot in the finals.
While Iran deserved to win an open game before a paltry 10,000 fans at Beijing`s Workers` Stadium, the match was marred by a brawl in the final seconds that saw Iran`s Mehdi Mahdavikia sent off.
He joined Arash Borhani in the dressing room after the Iranian forward was dismissed with 18 minutes to go for a reckless lunge.
Daei, in his last ever Asian Cup final appearance, secured victory with an 80th minute penalty conversion and a last minute drive to notch his 97th goal in a remarkable 129-match international career.
"It was a really hard game. I want to congratulate my players for a really tough fight. They deserved to win," said Iran coach Branko Ivankovic, who said earlier Friday he may resign and concentrate on club football.
He heaped praise on 35-year-old Daei.
"For us he is so important as a leader and is an excellent player, a great player. We need him but I don`t know how long he will play. It is up to him, I hope he plays a bit longer."
Bahrain coach Srecko Juricic acknowledged that Iran were the better team.
"I am satisfied with my team`s performance," he said.
"Fourth place is the maximum of what we could do in this tournament. We played very spirited football but today the Iranian team was better than us."
Midfield maestro Javed Nekounam put Iran on track in the ninth minute, capitalising on a defensive blunder just outside the penalty area, slotting the ball past the outstretched arms of keeper Abdurlahman Addulkarim.
Iran came at Bahrain from the whistle, intent on pressing forward, and could have made it 2-0 in the 24th minute when Mahdavikia drilled a shot from 25 yards which Addulkarim did well to smoother.
Bahrain had their chances with Talal Yusuf dangerous on the right, firing a well struck drive from the edge of the box.
The game opened up in the second half with Bahrain stepping up a gear and finding a stunning equaliser three minutes after the break.
In shades of David Beckham at his best, Yusuf curled a right foot freekick into the top right hand corner, leaving Iranian keeper Ebrahim Mirzapour stranded.
Iran kept pushing the attack and Mahdavikia sent a delicate chip over the defence in the 52nd minute for Ali Karimi to latch onto and lob over the advancing keeper to make it 2-1.
It gave him five goals for the tournament, making him joint top scorer with Bahrain`s A`ala Hubail.
Iran could have put it beyond Bahrain`s reach three minutes later if Yahya Golmohammadi`s goal hadn`t been disallowed.
Golmohammadi spun around punching the air thinking he`d made amends for his penalty miss against China in the semi-final that deprived Iran of a crack at their first Asian Cup title since 1976.
But referee Al Marzouqi ruled that he was offside
In a frenzied period, Bahrain pulled level when Saleh Farhan poked home from close range in the 57th minute after Duaij Naser`s powerful header bounced off the bar.
But Iran never gave up and Karimi was brought down by goalkeeper Mirzapour in the 80th minute. Daei made no mistake with the spot kick and made sure of victory with his last gasp drive.