Iran stamp their authority on the Asian Cup with victory over Bahrain

An impressive Iran side began their Asian Cup journey with a 2-0 victory over Bahrain in front of a lively crowd in Melbourne on Sunday.

Iran's victory had followed a convincing win for fellow tournament standouts the United Arab Emirates, who easily accounted for Qatar 4-1 earlier in the day.

But it was in Melbourne where the atmosphere was being created. More than 17,000 fans, almost exclusively Iranian, piled into the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium and were treated to a fine display from their team, with a pair of volleys from Ehsan Haji Safi and Masoud Shojaei sealing the win.

Iran had initially made a nervous start, with Bahrain's positive forays forward causing problems for Carlos Quieroz's side. An acrobatic effort from John Okwunwanne in the opening minutes was put well wide, but was a signal of their intent.

Soon after and Bahrain's Sayed Dhiya Shubbar found himself in a promising position following Sami Alhusaini's pass, only to put his shot over the bar with a free header.

Iran began to settle and, spurred on by a wonderful atmosphere created by their thousands of fans, poured forward in numbers.

Ashkan Dejagah was set through on goal, only to see his effort closed down by Sayed Mohamed Abbas, before Morteza Pouraliganji lashed a volley over the bar.

On the stroke of half time, the pressure paid. Bahrain partially cleared a corner through Abbas's punch, but Haji Safi was immediately onto the rebound.

The defender controlled with his left foot and struck with his right, firing a brilliant volley into the top corner to raise the volume inside the Melbourne ground.

After the break, imposing Bahraini striker Okwunwanne continued to prove a handful for the Iranian defence, shooting powerfully at goal from the edge of the area. It forced Ali Reza Haghighi into his first save of the night, bunting away the effort.

But Iran was in control. Monopolizing possession, they would soon find a second to kill off the contest through Masoud.

Evading the attentions of his marker, the midfielder directed Dejagah's corner into the bottom corner with a well-placed volley to put Iran two to the good.

Bahraini substitute Abdulwahab Al Malood had given the underdogs an injection of energy from the bench, stinging the palms of Haghighi with a fierce drive, but Iran were comfortable in seeing out the match.

Iran's victory followed the United Arab Emirates' earlier in the day after they recorded a dominant 4-1 win over Qatar in Canberra.

Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout were the heroes for the Emirati side, notching two goals each to cancel out Khalfan Ibrahim's opener, which had come against the run of play.

Qatar struggled to find their rhythm in the opening stages and looked nervous at the back. Just moments after United Arab Emirates striker Khalil was denied a penalty following Ahmed El Sayed's rash challenge, Mabkhout lashed a powerful shot into the side netting.

However, after absorbing the early pressure, Qatar would claim the lead through a slice of individual brilliance from Khalfan.

Emirati stopper Majed Naser had initially denied Mohammed Muntari with a fine save, only for Khalfan to meet the rebound with a perfectly executed volley that lobbed the keeper and found the back of the net.

The United Arab Emirates were quick to re-establish their dominance and, mere seconds after going behind, Khalil's close-range header was pushed away by Qasem Burhan.

Eventually, their luck would turn as they leveled the scores prior to half time. Burhan failed to effectively clear an aerial ball, with a subsequent effort rebounding off Khalil and fortuitously deflecting in.

It didn't take long for the United Arab Emirates to then claim the lead after the break. Again it was Khalil causing headaches, with his angled free kick deceiving everyone and nestling in the bottom corner.

Four minutes later and they doubled their advantage. Mabkhout profited from another poor piece of goalkeeping by Burhan, touching in the rebound after Khamis Esmaeel's 30-yard free kick was pushed away.

Mabkhout would put the icing on the cake with a late fourth goal, but it was just rewards for a dominant display from the United Arab Emirates, who opened their campaign in style. Endi